Opal, Sapphire, Ruby, and STEVEN!
by iamconstantine
Summary: Steven had a normal life. He lived in an ancient temple with a four-armed giant woman, a stoic future-seer, and a hotheaded warrior, and he had a pink Gemstone where his belly button would be. A walk in the park - that's what he thought. But as of late, he's being proven wrong. With Opal, Sapphire, and Ruby, Steven is determined to protect the planet Earth! Osrasaskblog on tumblr!
1. The Weapon

"Aaaaand…done! Bum-dum-dum-da!"

Steven stood on his knees and held the album proudly in his hands. Front to cover, each plastic page was filled with all 375 of his Guy Trading Cards. He had them listed alphabetically, from Acrobat Guy to Zookeeper Guy. Three years of online shopping, grocery store visits, and collector training had finally paid off in the end.

"Done already?"

Steven turned to Sadie, who was arranging some powder-pink donuts in the display case. Sadie Miller was one of the two teenage employees at Beach City's The Big Donut and was no stranger to Steven's visits to the shop. Steven had come in only a half-hour before with a new album, a roll of stickers, and a black marker to spend time until the Crystal Gems returned home to the Temple.

Steven nodded vigorously and lowered his voice dramatically. "Introducing…STEVEN'S GREAT N' GARGANTUAN GUIDE TO THE GUYS!"

He held the album up like a trophy. The red cloth cover had been scribbled on with marker and decorated with glittering star stickers. The fat black letters spelled out the name, although "TO THE GUYS" had all been messily crammed into the same line so it pretty much read as "TOTHEGUYS".

Sadie nodded and smiled, fluffy blonde hair bouncing as she did so. "Sweet."

Lars, the other employee at The Big Donut, came in from the back then. He scoffed at the album and droned, "Fascinating. A book filled with cards of the dumbest toys ev—ow! What?"

Lars rubbed his sore arm as Sadie shook her head at him. Putting her smile back on, she turned back to Steven. "What IS the deal with Guys, anyway?"

Steven gasped dramatically, as if that were the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. "They're only the coolest toys in the WORLD! There are rare Guys, platinum Guys, limited edition Guys, even Guy food products, like Guy Juice and Guy Candies!"

"Guy Juice?"

"Yeah, it tastes terrible, but it exists!" Steven ran through the pages of the album with stars in his yes. "Every single Guy is my role model."

Lars rolled his eyes. "I thought the Crystal Babes were your role models—Agh! What is your problem?!"

Oblivious to the glare that Sadie was giving Lars, Steven replied, "They are! I have tons of role models. I wish they all had trading cards like these!"

Lars—still holding his arm in pain—sighed and said, "Well, why don't you just make some?"

Steven gasped so loudly that the two teenagers were surprised that he didn't choke. "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA! THANKS, LARS!" He walked to the counter and held up his arms expectantly.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for a thank-you hug."

" _No."_

"I'll get you one day, Lars. Anyway!" Steven scurried back to the table to pick up his stickers and marker. On his way to the door, he called over his shoulder, "See you guys later!" and ran off to the Temple to get the supplies he needed to begin.

Steven and the Crystal Gems lived in an ancient Temple at the very end of the beach. The Temple was gargantuan in size, carved into the side of the cliff, and depicted a magnificent woman with four pairs of arms. The woman had two faces—one staring glaringly over the ocean, and the other smiling serenely down at the ground—and two of her eight hands clutched Steven's 'Room.' Technically, it was more like a house, with a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and whatnot, but the Crystal Gems referred to it as a 'room.'

Steven dashed up the stairs to the screen door and threw it open absentmindedly. "Are you guys back y—AGH!"

Steven let out a cry and dropped his album when something suddenly pinned him to the floor. Steven did his best to hold it at arm's length, and opened his eyes just enough to see what it was.

It looked like a giant wasp, with a three-part body colored electric blue. Its legs were like metal, yellow and reflective. Iridescent wings buzzed on its back, and two metallic pincers on its head tried to snap at Steven. Instead of eyes, it had two gaping holes in its head.

Steven had no idea what it was, why it was here, or what he was supposed to do, but he was much more focused on the stinger that was aimed at his belly. Steven thrashed and kicked, but it was no use.

A sudden force knocked the insect off of him, and Steven watched as it flew all the way to the far wall, where it disappeared in a burst of glittering dust on impact.

His savior was small, only a bit taller than him, with bright red skin, downy dark hair with a tie, and a rather stocky build. She was dressed in small boots, long dark pants, and a sleeveless scarlet tank top, not unlike exercise wear. Two gauntlets covered each of her hands.

She turned to Steven just long enough to shout "TAKE COVER!" before running off with a war cry.

Steven just realized that the place was swarming with the things, on every surface, buzzing through the air. He grabbed his album and threw himself under the living room table. He watched from his hiding spot as the small red person smashed and crushed bug after bug, all of them bursting into dust each time.

Watching gave Steven an idea, and he blindly reached to the top of the table, feeling around for paper. He got a sheet, and with his marker, drew a card-size rectangle with another inside for a picture. He spoke to himself as he wrote.

"Ruby. Special Abilities: Strength, Heat, Anger. This Crystal Gem is incredibly strong, but she also gets incredibly angry, so WATCH OUT."

Steven hardly had time to smile at his work when another insect landed right in front of him. He yelped and dove out from the table, but had no idea what to do next. The insect poised as if to leap at him.

"Steven! Get up here!"

Steven wasted no time in frantically dashing up the stairs to his loft. He brushed past a blue blur on the way up, and only looked to see who it was when he was "safe" under the blankets of his bed.

This person was a bit taller, though not by much. Almost everything on her was blue—light blue skin, powder blue hair, baby blue dress. The only exceptions were her black gloves and the black star portrayed on a strip of cloth running down her front. In each hand were knuckledusters, silver clutches with a sharp blue gemstone on each knuckle.

She was incredibly agile, never missing a beat between slashing the creatures with her knuckles. She dodged every strike that came at her as if she knew that it was coming a second prior. One insect dove for her from behind. She didn't spare it a glance a she simply uppercut it.

Steven reached for another piece of paper and his marker.

"Sapphire. Special Abilities: Speed, Concentration, Future Vision. Sapphire doesn't talk much, but she's got a big heart."

Steven was too distracted to notice the group of insects buzzing around him, stingers poised to strike. He did, however, notice when something wrapped around him and pulled him off the bed. He felt his stomach flip-flop as whatever was holding him practically flew through the air and landed with a heavy thump. A moment later, the blankets cocooned around him fell away from his eyes.

Unlike the others, this person was easily eight feet tall at least, and was dressed in a long tunic and leggings. She had light lilac skin and a mane of wild white hair tied back from her face. But those were hardly her most defining features. Other than her towering height, she also had four arms, two of which were holding Steven a few feet off the ground, and the other two holding a great longbow.

Although her hair was frazzled and her eyes were wide, her full lips smiled at Steven as she said, "Maybe you should just stay here for a bit, okay?"

That's all she said before all but stuffing him into a kitchen cupboard. Steven heard her footsteps running away, and had his paper and marker ready as he opened the door just enough to see her in the crack. She moved as gracefully as a dancer, practically swaying to dodge the insects, pulling the string of her bow back to hit her targets precisely.

"Opal. Special Abilities: Agility, Strength, Speed. Opal is the strongest of the Crystal Gems, and is impossible to hit in battle."

"Steven!" Ruby's high-pitched, slightly scratchy voiced called out. "Where are you?!"

"In here!"

"You can come out now!"

Steven threw the door open and carefully climbed onto the counter, then the floor. The insects were gone at last. One by one, the Crystal Gems dismissed the weapons in their hands, disappearing in flashes of light.

"What were those things?" Steven immediately asked.

"Crystal Wasps," was Sapphire's quiet answer. Sapphire hardly ever raised her voice above a monotone, and that, coupled with the bangs that covered half of her face, easily made her the most stoic person that Steven knew. "There must be a nest nearby."

"They didn't leave Gems behind," added Ruby. "So that means there's probably a huge, seriously angry queen nearby. Urgh!" Ruby dug her fingers into her hair with an annoyed groan.

The monsters that the Crystal Gems fought were supposed to leave Gems when they "poof-ed." One of them would encase the Gem in a bubble and send it to the Bubble Room for safekeeping.

"You didn't get stung, did you?" Opal asked worriedly.

"No, I'm fine. But listen!" Steven took out his paper and held it up for them to see. As they leaned forward for a better look, he explained, "I want to make trading cards of you guys!"

Ruby pulled back with an eyebrow raised. "You mean like your Dude toys?"

"Guy toys. And maybe we could do other things, too! Like a Ruby heating pad, or a Sapphire action figure with three whole recorded lines!" He gasped and pressed his hands to his cheeks. "We could even make Opal Juice! _It would take like apricots and peaches_."

The Crystal Gems glanced at each other—well, Ruby and Sapphire did, since Opal seemed to be contemplating the possibility of Opal Juice—and eventually, Sapphire spoke up, "Steven, we need to look for the nest right now."

"I can help you guys look!"

"No, no, no, no, no." Opal shook her head fervently. "You can't be the one to find a huge nest filled with dozens of Crystal Wasps and their queen."

Steven sighed in disappointed, but raised his paper. Mustering up his infamous puppy dog eyes, he plead, "Can I at least work on the cards of you guys?"

Ruby glared away, as if she just wanted to get to work already, but in truth, was trying to avoid the puppy dog eyes. "Fine. But if we say 'run', you run like crazy."

* * *

Steven decided to follow Ruby first, to the storage area underneath the house. He sat on a box underneath the shade of the deck, while Ruby was trying to follow a trail of wing scales from the Crystal Wasps. He had already drawn her picture in, and was now on the backside to write in the Fun Facts.

"What's your favorite food?"

Ruby raised a box over her head with one hand as she replied, "Uh…those sweet potato fries from that boardwalk place aren't bad, I guess."

"What's your favorite past time?"

"Training."

"What's your catchphrase?"

Ruby seemed to not have heard him this time, having been too busy looking for more wing scales. She threw the box back down with a groan. "Ugh!"

"U…G…H…" Steven murmured to himself.

Ruby froze suddenly, inching closer to the wall of dirt and clay beside them. She pressed an ear to it, paused, then turned to Steven with narrowed eyes. "Get ready to run like crazy."

Steven hopped off the box and took a starting position to do just that.

Ruby reared her fist back, her gauntlet appearing on her hand in a pop of red light, and brought it smashing into the wall with a war cry. Dirt and rubble blasted everywhere, and Steven couldn't help but flinch at the pebbles and clods that fell around him.

A moment later, Ruby gave yet another growl of disdain. The sound she'd heard was just the water system moving, and now it was partially exposed.

Steven watched with sudden interest as her gauntlet went bright red all over before disappearing entirely. The scarlet Gem in her hand flickered with light.

"How do you do that?"

Ruby brushed off dust that had landed on her clothes. "Do what?"

"Activate your Weapon."

Ruby paused. The Crystal Gems didn't know for sure, but they had hoped that Steven's Gem—the one in his belly, the one he'd inherited from his mother when she'd given up her physical form for him—would be able to project a Weapon for him. They'd tried asking him to do it, but he just didn't seem aware of what it took yet.

"Well…" Ruby curled her hands into fists as she explained, "First, I pull all my energy together. I build it up inside, direct it into my Gem, and…"

She raised her arms over her head and brought them down in a harsh swing. The gauntlets appeared once again, one on each hand. Ruby crossed her arms over her chest triumphantly. "Like that."

Steven nodded, and when Ruby turned back to keep investigating, he pulled up the hem of his shirt to look at the pink Gem embedded in his belly.

* * *

"Hello Steven."

Sapphire hadn't even turned around to look at the boy, though to be fair, did she really need to? She was standing at the shoreline, the salty waves running up to lap at her skirts before receding away. Both of her hands were clasped together at her chest.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking to see where we may be able to find the nest."

"Oh. Uh…can I ask you some questions for the trading cards?"

"Yes, you can."

"What is your favorite food?"

"Gems do not require food to sustain our bodies." She paused. "That being said, I suppose coffee isn't bad."

"Got it. What is your favorite past time?"

"Meditating."

"What would you say is your catchphrase?"

"Hm?"

"Your catchphrase."

Sapphire turned her head to him. "Hm?"

"Something that you say often."

"Hm…"

"Hm?"

"Hm?"

"'Hm'?"

"Oh." She nodded and turned back to the ocean. "Hm."

Steven wrote it down. "H…M…Alright." He tucked the paper underneath his arm, but stayed where he was. "Um…"

"Is there something else you need?"

"I was wondering…How do you summon your Weapon?"

Sapphire finally turned away from the ocean completely and raised her hands to him. The cobalt Gem in her palm glinted in the evening sun. "Summoning your Weapon is like taking a piece of yourself and removing it without actually breaking the connection. You reach into yourself, take that piece, and brandish it."

Her arms went from parallel to crossing, and her knuckledusters appeared in each hand. "Do you understand?"

"Um…yeah."

"…I don't think you do."

"I do!"

"…Hm." She dismissed the knuckledusters back into her Gem, and clasped her hands back together before turning to the ocean again. "If that's all you need, I need to return to processing the future."

"Okay. Um, do you—?"

"She's on top of the cliff."

"Wow."

"Yes. Wow."

* * *

"What is your favorite food?"

Opal hummed and put a finger to her chin. On top of the cliff, above the Temple, the high breeze rustled her hair around her. Steven was perched on a rock, ready to document her answer.

"I don't eat often, but I guess cinnamon pizza is pretty good."

"What is your favorite pastime?"

"Dancing. No, walking. No, singing. Wait—"

"I'll just put all three. What is your catchphrase?"

"'You win some, you lose some', I guess. I don't say that often, do I? I wonder where I heard that from. Was it Greg…?" Opal blinked at him slowly. "What were we talking about?"

"Yeah, that one will work." Steven quickly scribbled down _What were we talking about?_ He put the paper away and turned back to Opal. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How do you summon your Weapon?"

"Well," said Opal. "I have to concentrate, but not completely lose attention to my surroundings, either." One pair of hands rose to cup the solid white Gem in her forehead, the other pair cupping the multicolored Gem in her chest. "I have to move quickly, so I throw all of my concentration into just one second of power and…!"

In a flash of light, her longbow appeared in her hands. It was probably three times Steven's height, maybe two.

"That's how I do it."

Steven glanced down at his Gem. "Oh…Okay." He hopped off his rock. "I guess that's it, then. I'll let you get back to searching."

"Searching for what?"

"The Crystal Wasp nest."

"Oh. Right."

* * *

Steven had left the paper and marker on his bed while he stood at the foot of it. He was determined to summon his Weapon like the others. They could do it so easily, so why couldn't he?

He threw his fists down in a burst of energy, but his Gem didn't even flicker. Channeling his energy wouldn't work, apparently.

He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to empty his mind and connect himself with his Gem…or something like that. That didn't work, either.

He tried doing it quickly, going still then suddenly letting out a "HAH!" as he flexed his muscles together. No results for that one, either.

He sighed in defeat and reached for the paper. The three cards for the Crystal Gems were colored and ready to be cut out. Ruby's was red, Sapphire's was blue, and Opal's was light purple. But there was a fourth pink card underneath them, the picture box empty. Steven picked up the paper to read it.

 _STEVEN – SPECIAL ABILITIES: ?—This Crystal Gem is ?_

He looked at the empty card and then down at his Gem. He covered it with his shirt. How could he be like his role models when he couldn't do the easiest trick in the book?

He'd been so busy reading that he hadn't heard the distant buzzing. At first he assumed it was a passing helicopter, but then he realized it was coming closer and closer. He heard distant shouts, and sat up on his bed worriedly.

The front door flew open and hit the wall with a sudden slam. Ruby frantically looked around until she found him on the bed. "STEVEN! STAY IN HERE!" That was all she said before she slammed the door shut.

That command had never compelled Steven before, and it wasn't going to now. He ran down the stairs and stuffed the paper of cards and his marker into his pocket. He opened the door and all but threw himself against the railing to see what was going on.

The Queen Wasp had finally arrived. She looked similar to the others, electric blue and metallic yellow, but she was easily ten times larger, her pincers and stinger ten times sharper. A white Gem glittered between her two gaping eyes. She buzzed above the Crystal Gems, her huge wings sending gusts of wind down on them.

As Steven watched, the Queen reared her stinger back. The sharp end of it shot out from her, straight for the Gems. They managed to dodge, thankfully, but another stinger appeared in its place and fired again. One after another, in quick succession, until she it was a hailstorm of them. Whenever a Crystal Gem tried to jump up and strike her, she would fly out of their reach. Their only hope was Opal's bow, but she was having a hard time aiming and dodging at the same time.

When Opal tried to turn around the Queen, the barrage of stingers followed her. A line of then went up the ground all the way to the deck of Steven's room. One struck a support beam, shattering it, and Steven yelped in surprise when he felt it give way beneath him. Luckily, he was caught by Opal, who wasted no time in carrying him in her arms.

Ruby ran past them, yelling, "I SAID STAY IN THE HOUSE!"

Although her voice was still monotone, somewhere Sapphire cried, "We can't get near her!"

"WE HAVE TO DISTRACT HER SOMEHOW!" called Opal. "BUT NOW SHE'S SEEN STEVEN, AND SHE WON'T LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

It was a moment before Ruby called back, "SAPPHIRE AND I CAN GROUP TOGETHER SO IT'LL TARGET US. WATCH OVER STEVEN!"

Steven watched the blurry silhouettes of Ruby and Sapphire join together. It seemed to work, as the Queen turned on them. Emphasis on "seem", however. Opal put Steven down and drew back her bowstring at the same time that the Queen suddenly dived for Ruby and Sapphire.

The two managed to dodge, Sapphire on her feet, Ruby skidding on one knee. The Queen brought herself upright and turned to them. Ruby and Sapphire ran towards Opal and Steven as Opal finally fired a bright blue arrow at the Queen.

It would have been a perfect hit, if the seemingly soft blue parts of the Queen's body weren't as armored as the metallic yellow parts. The arrow had no effect other than making her even angrier than before.

"I have to hit her in the face," Opal hissed. She drew her bowstring back again. "You guys make a run for it when I tell you to."

The Queen dove for them, and Steven's mind started racing. What if Opal misfired and the Queen ended up coming for her, anyway? Opal would be defenseless, and when the Queen was done with her, she'd come for Ruby and Sapphire, and then him, and that would be it!

The Queen drew nearer, and Steven's belly suddenly grew warm, and Opal cried "RUN!" and—

BOOM!

Steven opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them.

Before him, emitting from his Gem like a film projector, a round pink shield stood between the Queen and the Gems. The Queen was shaking, having disoriented herself when he head came crashing straight into it. Behind him, he heard one of the Crystal Gems gasp.

A shield! His Weapon was a shield!

His victory was short-lived when Opal took advantage of the Queen's state and fired an arrow into her head. In a burst of blue and yellow smoke, the Queen disappeared. Steven jumped when it happened, and when he opened his eyes again, the shield was gone.

Sapphire ran over to hold the Gem in a bright blue Bubble. She pressed on it like a button, and it disappeared to the Bubble Room.

Steven tried to summon his Weapon again, hoping to do the same he had done before. Unfortunately, it was useless—his Gem had gone back to being lifeless.

"I'm never going to figure this out."

Opal knelt down to come a little closer to the boy (albeit she still towered over him considerably.) "That was your first time. It takes some getting used to."

"But I'm supposed to be a Crystal Gem! It should be easy for me!"

The Crystal Gems looked at one another for a moment before turning back to him, all smiling. Opal reached out and took the paper and the marker from his pocket. She scribbled something down on it, then passed it to Ruby, who did the same. Sapphire was the last one to write something down before handing it back to Steven.

Steven's card had been filled in. A picture of Steven smiling and surrounded by stars was in the box, and below that, Steven read:

 _STEVEN – SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fun, Understanding, Determination – This Crystal Gem is the best of them all!_

"You are a Crystal Gem, Steven," said Sapphire. She stepped forward and put her gloved hands on his shoulders comfortingly. "You'll figure it out, and we're going to help you."

Ruby nodded fervently, and Opal raised one of her four hands to rustle Steven's curly hair. Steven smiled at them, his eyes lighting up.

Ruby raised her arms to stretch them and started walking back to the stairs leading to Steven's Room. "Now I'm bored. What are we going to do?"

"I know!" Opal bent down to lift Steven into her arms as he excitedly shouted, "Let's make Opal Juice!"

"Do I get to pound the fruit?" Ruby called from inside.

"Sure!"

"I'm in."

"It's going to taste weird," Sapphire said as she quickly flitted up the stairs after Ruby.

"I know," replied Steven, and Opal chuckled as she pulled him closer.


	2. The Comet

"Is this it?"

"No, I think those are spare T-shirts for the cannon."

Steven made a sort of "harumph" sound as he put the cardboard box down atop of another. Steven's father, Greg Universe, had asked Steven to help him find some memorabilia from his days of being the rock star "Mr. Universe." There wasn't much luck as of yet - just a handful of CDs and T-shirts.

Steven stepped on another stuffed box, and heard Greg call, "Be careful!"

Steven was going to reply, but stopped when he saw a box full of dusty VHS tapes at the top of a pillar of boxes. He could just hardly make out titles like "First Gig!" and "First REAL Gig!" He smiled and reached out for them, teetering on his own pillar of boxes. "I think I found someth - WHOA!"

Steven yelped when the pillar caved, sending him falling. Lucky for him, he managed to land in a box of old pillows appropriately labeled "Convenient Box of Pillows."

From behind the other boxes too tightly packed to walk through, he heard Greg call, "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm good!"

Steven hauled himself out of the box and dusted himself off. This area of the storage unit was darker due to the blockade of junk keeping the sunlight out. Still, he could make out the shapes of some things, like a bag of golf clubs, or an oversized teddy bear.

A single ray of sunlight was glinting off something shiny and pink. Steven stepped forward curiously. After pushing away some other items concealing his view, he stepped back to see what it was.

It looked like a cannon, of all things. It was tall and pink, its texture like glass. The nozzle was aimed at the ceiling. Whatever it was for, it had been there a while, judging by its dusty surface.

"Steven?"

Steven turned his head a bit to call back. "Hey, Dad? What's with this giant cannon?"

"What now?"

Steven climbed back up the mountain of junk and boxes until he saw his father, standing at the mouth of the storage unit. "There's a giant cannon back here!"

Greg gave a sort of groan and scratched his balding head. With a sigh, he replied, "I don't like the sound of this. Help me get this stuff out of the way so I can see."

It took a bit of rearranging everything outside the storage unit, but eventually, they managed to make a path to the cannon. Greg's eyes were wide as he circled around it, one hand raised as it to touch it. "It looks like something that would belong to your mother."

"Really?"

"I guess. If not, then I have no idea where it came from."

"Hm..." Steven scratched at his chin thoughtfully. A ringing sound interrupted his thoughts, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Hello?"

He heard movement on the other side of the line, and a distant voice, as if they weren't handling the phone quite right. "Am I doing this right...ahem...Steven?!" The voice was still a bit off.

"Ruby? Talk into the other side!"

Now her voice came loud and clear. "STEVEN?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Yes!"

"WE NEED YOU TO COME BACK TO THE TEMPLE. RIGHT NOW."

"Okay, I will."

"OKAY!" He heard footsteps walking a way, and a door slamming shut. Ruby hadn't hung the phone back up, and he heard her calling, "He's on his way!"

Steven turned to his father apologetically. "Sorry, Dad. They need me back at the Temple."

Greg frowned, but it was replaced with a smile as quickly as it came. "No big deal. I'll find it later."

Steven looked back at the cannon. If it DID belong to his mother, the Crystal Gems had to know SOMETHING about it, didn't they? "Do you think we can bring this to the Temple?"

Greg frowned as he looked the weapon up and down. He didn't have to try and lift it to know that it weighed probably a hundred tons. "Looks pretty heavy to me."

Steven hummed and looked around for anything that could help them. That scooter was too small, those skates didn't do any good, he had no idea why that pogo stick was even there...His eyes landed on an old wooden wagon and a light bulb lit over his head. "I have an idea!"

* * *

Minutes later, Steven and the cannon were inside the wagon, rolling down the street. Steven had a bicycle helmet strapped over his head and was steering the wagon with the iron handle. "We're really speeding now! How's it going, Dad?"

On the other side of the rope attached to the wagon, Greg leaned out of his van window to look back at Steven. The cannon was splintered through the floor of the wagon, sending sparks as it ground against the road. "Going good!" He pulled himself back inside and groaned. "Hoh boy..."

Things arguably got better when they hit the sand of the beach, as the cannon more or less just slid on it. The Crystal Gems stood on the shoreline, Opal with a telescope in hand, aimed at the sky. They turned to them when they pulled up, then turned back when they saw the cannon dragging in the sand. Opal and Sapphire's jaws dropped as Ruby let out a surprised "Whoa..."

Steven unclipped his helmet and ran to them. "I'm here!"

He didn't get a greeting. Instead, Ruby looked past him and asked, "Where did you find that?"

"It was in Dad's old storage unit!"

Opal turned to Greg with her blue eyes narrowed down at him. She didn't seem angry, just skeptical. "Why?"

Greg looked away awkwardly. "Um...I guess Rose must have left it there?"

Ruby walked up to the cannon, running a red hand down its smooth surface. "Rose left her Laser Light Cannon in a dirty old cave all these years?"

Greg opened his mouth to retort at that last comment, but Steven spoke up first. "A Laser Light Cannon?"

"Rose Quartz used to use this in battle against particularly durable enemies," explained Opal. As she stared at the cannon, a faraway look came to her eyes. "We've been trying to find it for years after she–"

"Left," finished Sapphire. Her focus was on Steven, rather than the cannon. "She must have entrusted Greg with it so he would give it to you someday."

Ruby's eyes went wide in thought as she stared at the cannon. "Oh! This is perfect!"

She ran back to the telescope now laying in the sand. She aimed it at the sky and called back, "This can fire that thing to bits!"

"What thing?" asked Steven.

Ruby waved him forward to take the telescope from her. Steven aimed, fiddled with the lens a bit, and his eyebrows furrowed at what he saw. It looked like a purple object in the sky, miles away from them. He couldn't see what it was, could only see the ripples of light that shone off of it as it approached.

"What is that? A comet?" Steven gasped and crossed his fingers together tightly. "Please let Cookie Cats come back...please..."

"It's not a comet," said Opal. She paused. "Well, it might be. We have no idea. All we know is that it's headed straight here for Beach City."

"But now..." Ruby smiled and gestured at the Light Cannon. "We've got this! This will work, right?"

Sapphire hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, it should."

Greg lifted the wooden remains of the wagon from the Light Cannon as they talked. Opal tried to push the open nozzle forward to the sky, but it wouldn't budge. Ruby tried to help, too, but even their combined strength wouldn't move it an inch.

After several moments of watching them grunt and struggle fruitlessly, Sapphire sighed to herself and spoke up, "Rose always used a code word or phrase to activate it."

Opal sheepishly scratched her blushing cheek. "Right..." Then, she closed her eyes, put three hands on her hips and pointed the last at the cannon, and shouted, "Activate!"

The cannon remained unresponsive, and Opal confusedly opened an eye to peek at it. Her hands dropped, as did her face. "Isn't that what Rose usually did?"

Ruby glared at the cannon and clenched her fists before crying, "Start up!" Nothing. "Fire!" Still nothing. "Prepare!"

"Open sesame!" cried Steven. "Abracadabra!"

They must have looked ridiculous from afar, shouting random words at an inanimate object. Greg saw a family of three passing by stop to stare and point at them. He shuffled behind his van and out of sight in embarrassment.

Steven finally pulled on Opal and Ruby's arms as he proclaimed, "I have an idea!"

He planted his feet firmly in the sand, spat into his palms, rubbed them together, and raised them to the cannon, proclaiming,

"BADABING!"

Nada.

Steven shrugged and turned back to the Crystal Gems. "That's all I've got."

Ruby groaned and tapped Opal on her calf. "Fire me!"

Opal obliged, summoning her bow into her hands and letting Ruby grab onto it. When Opal pulled the bowstring and Ruby's foot back, aiming her at the sky, Sapphire's voice stopped them.

"It's not going to work." Sapphire droned.

Steven hummed thoughtfully and raised his T-shirt to reveal his Gem. Maybe his mother changed the function for him? He pressed it to the cannon, but that did nothing. He tried tapping on it, too, to no avail. The Crystal Gems eventually just sat down and watched as he tried several ways to activate it. He sang to it, kissed it, and even just hugged it at one point.

Ruby threw her hands in the air and fell back against the sand. Ripples of heat lifted off of her small body. "This is pointless!"

Opal stood to her toes and placed a comforting hand on Steven's shoulder. "Maybe you and Greg should go back and see if you can find any clues. She must have left something for you to follow."

Steven nodded and ran back to Greg, who had fallen asleep against the van. He jumped when Steven shook him and ended up falling down into the sand. "What?"

"Come on! We need to go back to the storage unit!"

"Alright, alright," Greg groaned as he opened the driver's door and climbed inside. "Break my back, why don't you?"

Steven strapped himself into his seat and leaned out of the window to call, "We'll be back soon!"

The Crystal Gems waved goodbye to him until the van had turned out of sight into the town. A moment later, Sapphire turned to Ruby. "Get in the bow."

* * *

Steven threw another box of novelty eye patches to the side and reached for another box, tearing the yellow tape open. More fiction books. "Still nothing!"

"Same here!" called Greg. He put down a heavy box of vampire costumes that, to be honest with himself, even HE didn't know was there.

"Did we find anything that used to belong to Mom?"

"Just this old teddy bear that she got me for our anniversary," replied Greg. He lifted up the stained stuffed animal and squeezed it. The incredibly old sound box inside made a muffled and distorted "Ei wuv oo" before breaking off in a buzz.

"What if we don't find anything?" Steven growled and threw a half-deflated basketball over his shoulder. "The Gems are counting on me!"

"We'll figure something out, Steven." Greg smiled up at his son and gave him a comforting thumbs-up. "If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs, right?"

Steven smiled at the familiar catchphrase, but quickly went back to searching. He found the empty spot where the cannon once stood and approached it curiously.

"I remember when I met your mother. I was doing a concert in town and she was the only one that showed up."

Steven looked around and was about to keep searching when he spotted a small piece of paper on the grimy floor. He pushed a spare box aside and reached for it.

"In the end, my music dreams didn't work out, but at least I got your mother. And you, of course."

Steven picked up the paper and held it to the dim light. It was an old postcard from Beach City, showing a faded image a setting sun over sparkling waters. He turned the card around and read the writing on the back.

"If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs."

Greg paused in surprise, but grinned a moment later. "Yeah! Of course!"

"DAD!" Steven wound his way out of the labyrinth of junk until he was standing in front of his father, holding the postcard in his hands. "THIS IS IT!"

Greg picked up the postcard with a bemused expression on your face. "This is just an old postcard I bought at the store a long time ago..."

"I'm sure this is it! This has to be the code phrase!"

Greg was still staring at the postcard as he walked outside. "I don't know, it seems like kind of a silly thing for a can - OH GEEZ!"

Steven ran to his side to see what he was so shocked about, and let out a yelp of his own. The sky above the ocean was turning a light purple, and he could clearly see the comet in the sky, steadily approaching Beach City. They were so busy searching that they hadn't noticed how close it was getting until then. They only snapped out of their stupor when something small, red, and yelling flew past the comet and into the ocean.

"We gotta go!" Steven cried.

Greg didn't give a single retort as he and Steven raced for the van. Greg accelerated for the beach, beads of sweat the size of bowling balls running down his face. The sky continued to change colors, and the image of the comet grew.

When they made it back to the beach, Ruby was running up to Opal, dripping wet. She shook her head like a dog, sending water everywhere, and demanded, "Shoot me again! I almost made it this time!"

They only then noticed Steven approaching them, and Opal immediately questioned, "Did you figure it out?"

Steven turned to the cannon and shouted, "If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hotdogs!"

There was a beat of silence, and eventually, Ruby sighed. "I don't think Rose would make the code phrase something so—"

The cannon hummed to life.

"—Are you serious?"

The nozzle of the cannon "bloomed", petal-like pieces opening upwards as the inside emitted a pale pink light. Suddenly, it fell down heavily to the sand. The five of them - Opal, Sapphire, Ruby, Steven, and Greg - all lifted the cannon together. They aimed, and Steven could feel it trembling beneath his fingers.

"Brace yourselves!" Opal cried over the hum.

The cannon fired, and Steven felt himself being thrown into Opal at the blast. A beam of light was shooting out from the cannon, and as Steven watched, it took on the vague form of a woman's silhouette just seconds before finally colliding with the comet.

The effect was immediate. The purple tint of the sky disappeared, and the comet shattered in a cloud of white smoke. Debris and pieces fell to the sand and sea in flames.

Ruby whooped a cheer and drew Steven in for a rough hug while Sapphire politely clapped her hands. The three of them froze when Opal grabbed all of them into her long arms and squeezed them to her. Greg sighed in relief and fell back against the side of his van.

"I'm surprised," mused Ruby. "I would have thought that there'd be a lot more destruction out of this."

No more than a second later, a flaming piece of the comet fell right onto the roof of Greg's van.

Ruby chuckled. "That's more like it."

"MY VAN!" Greg pulled at his long locks of hair, and he was back to sweating bowling balls. The debris' flames had extinguished, but it was still caving the roof of the vehicle.

Ruby snickered to herself as Opal stepped forward to help lift it up. Even Sapphire was biting back an amused smirk. Steven laughed, too, but still curiously stared at the fallen debris. What was it, anyway, if not a comet?

Ah, well. He was bound to figure it out one day, right?


	3. The Backpack

Jamie - residential mailman of Beach City - craned his neck around the beach to see if he could find a mailbox of sorts. There was an order for an address written "Giant Woman Temple on the Beach", and although he could see a house built into the hands of the depicted woman, he couldn't find a mailbox anywhere

"Hello?" called Jamie. He held the package up in his hands. "I have a package for a Universe, Steven?"

"THAT'S ME!"

Jamie looked around a bit to see who had spoken. Underneath the patio of the house, a tent was set up in the shade. Something moved around inside, and the zipper on the 'door' moved. A small boy with curly brown hair and a pink T-shirt crawled out a moment later, stumbling in the sand in his haste to run at the mailman.

"I'm Universe, Steven!" He eagerly took the package from Jamie and held it to his chest protectively. "Thank you, man, mail."

"Signature, please?"

Steven took the clipboard and took a minute scribbling his name down on it. In the end, it was kind of sloppy and surrounded by several cartoon-y stars.

"What is it, anyway?" Jamie asked curiously.

Steven's big brown eyes were shimmering happily as he proclaimed, "Only the most amazing thing on the whole planet!"

"...That doesn't answer my question, but whatever you say!" Jamie turned on his heel and waved over his shoulder. "Have a nice day!"

Steven almost tripped several times in his sprint up the stairs to his room. He threw the door open with far too much force and ignored the sharp crack it made against the wall. "I got it!"

The Crystal Gems were inside his room, Ruby leaning against the far wall with crossed arms, Sapphire seated at the island with her arms folded neatly in her lap. Opal was leaning against the counter with a piece of aged parchment spread out before her for inspection.

Opal was the first to ask, "You got what?"

"The most amazing thing on the planet!"

Silence was held for a good five seconds before Sapphire finally said, "It's a backpack shaped like a sandwich."

"This isn't JUST a backpack shaped like a sandwich!" Steven tore off the tape and crinkling wrapping paper and pulled out his prize. It looked like a giant plush cheeseburger with two straps on either side of the bottom "bun". "It's a backpack shaped like a cheeseburger!"

Sapphire hummed. "My mistake."

Ruby curiously stepped forward to get a closer look at it. Steven handed it to her, and she turned it this way and that in her red hands, shook it experimentally and scoffed, "What's so great about a backpack-cheeseburger?"

"It can hold so many useful things! Everything in it is a pocket. The cheese, the lettuce, the tomatoes...you could fit a million things in here!"

"That's wonderful, Steven. But we can't celebrate right now. We're busy."

Steven's ecstatic smile fell, replaced by a curious frown and a raised brow. "With what?"

Sapphire turned to Opal and gave her a single nod. Opal opened the old parchment to Steven, one hand at each corner. There were a series of diamonds and arrows spread across the material. The ink was slightly faded from years of age.

"We found this on one of our missions," explained Opal. She let the parchment roll back into her fingers. "We believe it's an emergency code to keep the Aerial Tower suspended in the air. We have to leave immediately if we want to make it in time."

The three of them approached the Warp Pad, and Steven cried out, "Can I come with you?"

Ruby shook her head vigorously and made an X with her arms. "Uh-uh. No way. It's way too dangerous for you."

Steven sighed and threw his new backpack around his shoulders. He kept his voice surprisingly even as he said, "How am I supposed to be a Crystal Gem if you guys never let me go with you guys?"

A glance was passed around the Gems, and Opal was the first to speak. "I suppose he has a point."

Sapphire advised, "Go get what you need."

Steven nodded and ran for the stairs to his loft. He spent a good fiften minutes tearing through his items, either tossing them aside or stuffing them into his backpack. He put the safety blanket, first aid kid, and emergency food aside in favor of some crossword puzzles, glow sticks, a roll of duct tape decorated with ducks...Things that would surely come in handy.

"STEVEN!" Ruby called impatiently from downstairs. "COME ON! PACK IT AND SACK IT!"

Steven hastily zipped up all the pockets and darted down the stairs to the awaiting Warp Pad. What with the size of it, he, Ruby, and Sapphire squeezed in side-by-side with Opal towering behind them. A moment later, the Warp Pad beneath him lit up, and jets of light were rising around him.

The Crystal Gems were used to Warping, as they did it on nearly a daily basis. Steven was not. As the others only slightly lifted from the Warp Pad, Steven kept rising and rising, until Opal eventually sighed and grabbed his hand to keep him anchored.

Eventually, the jets of light vanished, and gravity returned. Opal caught Steven when he came falling down and helped him land on his feet.

"This is it," said Opal. "The Aerial Tower."

Steven gasped as he looked around them. They were in a sea of white clouds as far as the eye could see, and strong wind was everywhere. At the moment, they were standing on an "island", a small grassy area connected by a white bridge to the Tower itself. The Tower was shaped like a teardrop, the walls made of ancient stone decorated in runes, opalescent pillars on all sides. Other islands branched off from it, and Steven watched as a flock of pale pink birds flittered underneath them.

"This used to be a place for only the most elite Gems," explained Opal. She held out a long finger, and smiled warmly when one of the pink birds landed on it. "It's been abandoned for centuries, but if we can get the emergency code in, we can save it for centuries m - HEY!"

The bird suddenly dove for the parchment in Opal's hands, tearing off a small piece of the corner. Opal shooed it away and glared at it as it disappeared into the clouds. "Pests."

A light bulb lit over Steven's head, and he pulled his backpack off of his shoulders. "Here, let me put that in my backpack for safekeeping!"

Opal held up the parchment and clicked her tongue thoughtfully. "I don't know...Will you be careful with it?" She passed the parchment to him when he nodded.

"I will hold it was if it were my son," Steven said before all but cramming it into his backpack. Opal groaned to herself.

"Hey!" Ruby yelled at them from the connecting bridge, waving her arms, "We're on a mission here, in case you forgot!"

They crossed the bridge (the Gems growing antsy when Steven walked a bit too close to the edge) to the tower. The ground floor was a vast area, and the ceiling and floors were covered in exquisite drawings still pristinely polished. Steven tried to take in as many of the images as he could, but Ruby's growl of disdain interrupted him. "Of course."

In the middle of the room, there was a large circular area of the floor missing, and Steven could see clouds for miles below. There was a missing space on the ceiling above it, too, and a strong current of wind was pushing through them.

"Is this seriously the only way up?" groaned Ruby.

"Only Gems with flying abilities could go through," explained Opal.

"I can," said Sapphire, "but the rest of you cannot."

"Here!" Steven swung his backpack off again and rummaged around inside. "Let me see if I have something that can help...Wait...Here we go!"

Steven took out a wad of blankets from his backpack and unraveled them. At the Crystal Gems' confused stares, he explained, "We can use them like parachutes and ride the wind up!"

Opal glanced back at the current. That had the possibility of working, but if it didn't, they'd be falling for miles. She turned to Sapphire and asked, "Will that work?"

Sapphire shrugged.

Steven passed one blanket to each Gem, the largest one going to Opal. He helped them tie the corners around their arms like straps, and when they were done, they stood on the edge of the current, obviously unsure. From where they stood, the strong air still ruffled their hair and clothes.

"Ready?" Steven asked over the roar of air.

"NO!" "LET'S DO IT!" "Hm"

Steven threw his body forward.

Immediately, the blanket on his back swelled with air, and he was drifting upwards with incredible speed. He laughed to himself - it worked! - and looked around at the others. Sapphire was as still as always, Ruby was trembling like a startled Chihuahua, and Opal was holding her knees to her chest as she squealed in fear.

"Nice work, Steven," said Sapphire.

Ruby finally let her body relax, and let out a strained sigh. She turned her head to see how many levels they had passed - at least twenty, surely. She cracked a grin. "This isn't so bad. If we keep going we can - AGH!"

Steven looked up just in time to see what she was staring at. One of the openings above - Steven noticed that they were getting smaller and smaller the farther up they went - was blocked by a fallen pillar. Sapphire reached out and held him to her body, taking the force of the blow when they collided with it. Ruby followed after, hitting it with a yelp, and Opal just barely managed not to crush any of them when she followed last. With their blankets crumpled, they began to fall, but Opal quickly extended her limbs outwards to catch onto the sides. The others fell atop her, and used her body as a bridge to get to safety.

When Opal crawled on after them, her hair was an unruly mess and she was clearly disoriented, but still managed to give Steven a thumbs-up. "Nice one."

Ruby ran a hand down her face. "I'm already tired of this place. Let's keep moving so we can get out of here!"

They walked around the floor for a bit, searching for another way to continue upwards, and eventually managed to find an island with two bridges connecting their floor to another. Outside, the clouds were turning a pale blue color as the evening approached.

"Does anybody want snacks?" asked Steven. He swung his backpack around and carried it in his arm as he opened it. "I've got some potato chips, gummy worms, trail mix...I have some leftover Opal J - Oof!"

Steven collided with Ruby, who had stopped in her tracks. "What's w...Oh."

The floor was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of the pink birds, perched on every surface, nests in every crook and cranny. In the middle of the floor was a massive nest of soft grass, and an equally massive bird with bright pink feathers and a razor-sharp beak was resting in it. Each and every bird had turned to them. Their feathers were ruffled, and even Steven knew that they were poised to swoop down and attack.

The Crystal Gems were frozen, trying to find out how to get out of this situation without triggering the birds, which seemed impossible.

"What do we do?" Opal hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'll distract them," said Opal. She slowly lifted her hands to her Gems to summon her bow as she continued, "The two of you grab Steven and - "

"GUMMY WORM DISTRACTION!"

Steven had ripped open the pack of gummy worms in his backpack and threw the contents into the air. The colorful gummy candy fell onto the floor, and after staring down at it for a moment, the birds swooped down to feast. All together, they looked like a giant pink mass of feathers and talons.

Ruby turned to Steven wide-eyed. "How did you figure that out?"

Steven shrugged. "Birds like worms."

"...Makes sense."

They continued up the tower, finding whichever ways they could to continue their descent. Eventually, they found themselves stuck on a floor near the top of the tower, and walked outside to another island to see what they could do. The wind was as strong as ever, but the clouds were now blue and purple, and Steven could see stars in the spaces between them. The topmost floor was a considerable distance from them, maybe fifty or so yards.

"Maybe we could find a way from here," said Opal. "You got anything, Steven?"

Steven hadn't been paying too much attention, and turned to her when she said his name. "What?"

Ruby smirked at him and nudged the backpack with her knuckles. "Come on, let's see what you got."

Steven pulled his backpack off of his shoulder and opened all the pockets to find something useful. Crossword puzzles - no. Glow sticks - no. Floaties - no.

Seeing the look of anxiety on his face, Ruby started to pump her fists up and down, urging him on. "Steven! Steven! Steven!" She frowned and nudged Sapphire, growling under her breath, "Encourage him!"

Sapphire joined in, but her monotone voice sounded more like a broken record. "Steven. Steven. Steven."

"You got it, Steven," cheered Opal.

Steven rummaged to the bottom of his backpack and finally gave a gasp of surprise. A grin spread from ear-to-ear and he pulled out a large ring of rope. The Gems waited for him to explain, so he did: "We can attach this to an arrow from Opal's bow and fire it to the tower to climb across!"

The Gems burst out into cheers for him. As Ruby ruffled Steven's hair, Opal summoned her bow and pulled the string back so a blue arrow appeared in her fingers. She held it out to Sapphire to tie the rope in a tight knot around it, and Sapphire held the rest of the rope to keep it from flying off. Opal aimed, paused, and fired.

However, after only two seconds, Sapphire ran out of rope to hold and was forced to let it go. The arrow embedded into the side of the tower above, and the rope dangled only about three yards beneath it. The arrow then disappeared, and the rope fell into the clouds and out of sight.

An awkward silence followed after this, and it was only broken when Steven let out a disappointed sigh. He pulled his backpack back on and felt himself being lifted up a moment later. Opal smiled down at him comfortingly as she picked up Ruby and Sapphire as well. "It was a good idea."

With the three of them tightly in hand, Opal took a great leap upwards. She first landed on a tiny piece of rock hovering in the air, and then leaped again to the top of the tower.

Steven was set on his feet and looked to see what awaited them. It looked like a dashboard of sorts, covered in four diamonds colored blue, white, pink, and yellow.

The tower suddenly swayed left. Steven felt Opal grab his shoulder as their weight shifted, but the tower went upright soon after.

Ruby stood upright and ran to the dashboard. "The Tower is starting to fall!" She turned to Steven and held out her hand, her Gem facing upwards. "Steven, give me the diagram!"

Steven nodded and reached into his backpack. He went through the first, and then the second...panic started to set in at the fourth. When the last one was searched, he started to hastily tear through them again, tossing items over his shoulder in a desperate attempt to get them out of the way.

Behind him, Opal asked, "You DO have it right?"

Steven gulped, sweat running down his face. This was bad. Really, really bad. "I...um...must have dropped it some - Oh, wait, no, here it is."

He pulled the crinkled parchment from his backpack, earning a sigh of relief from all of them. Steven chuckled as he unfolded it and turned to the Gems with a crooked smile. "That could have been a disaster."

A pink bird proceeded to swoop down and snatch the parchment from his fingers before flying off.

Steven's jaw hung open and his eyes were wide open. He turned to the Gems to see that they looked exactly the same.

The Tower trembled again, and Steven felt his stomach jumped when they dropped several feet. He ran to the control board and looked at the diamond-shaped buttons. "If that parchment had a bunch of random steps on it, we just push a bunch of random buttons, right?"

Opal looked down at Sapphire. "What are the odds of that working?"

Sapphire shrugged.

"We have to take it!" Steven took a deep breath of air to calm his nerves. He hovered his hands above the buttons. Sweat continued to collect on his brow, and he whispered, "I have to do this very carefully."

He attacked the buttons at random, smashing them with his fists and finishing it by simply sliding his arms over them back and forth.

They held their breaths as they waited to see what would happen. The Tower trembled, and they flinched, but slowly, it began to lift into the air. They were frozen with shock, and Ruby barked a laugh as she cried, "It actually worked!"

The Tower froze, and then began to plummet.

Screams filled the air as they were lifted upwards from the force of the wind. The clouds engulfed them, and everything around Steven turned into a panicked haze of confusion. He hardly managed to realize that the clouds had broken, and he could see dark blue water for miles and miles, before he slammed into the floor again. The tower had hit the water and was steadily sinking down. He could hear the loud gurgling sound, and watched as hundreds of pink birds took to the sky to escape.

"The Tower will suck us down with it!" cried Ruby.

"Wait!" Steven swung his backpack off and reached inside. "I have an idea - "

The water engulfed them.

The Tower vanished into the dark waves of the sea. The rippling saltwater settled, and there was only silence in its place. The half-moon shimmered on the crests, and dark clouds passed lazily overhead.

Soon, a bubble popped on the surface, then another, and another, until there was a flurry of them, and the Gems and Steven broke through the water, gasping for fresh air.

Steven sighed in relief - the purple floaties on his arms kept him suspended. Sapphire's skirts were swollen around her, keeping her afloat, Opal's mane of white hair was concealing her face, and Ruby was trying her hardest to keep her legs kicking as hard as possible.

Steven sighed and, with tears pricking his eyes, murmured, "I'm sorry. I screwed up everything..."

Opal pulled her dripping white hair away from her face to smile at him. "It was an accident, Steven. It could have happened to any of us." She held out a long arm to Ruby, who wrapped her arms and legs around it for dear life.

When she finally calmed down, Ruby pushed her sodden headband back and added, "Yeah, and you still helped us out. A for effort!"

Steven smiled appreciatively. "Yeah, I guess I did help, huh? And here, I have floaties for everyone!" He reached into his backpack - with difficulty - and handed out a few floaties and rings. Ruby snatched hers at once and went to puffing into it vigorously.

"Okay, so..." Opal paused as she pulled on a fourth floatie to her bottom-left arm and turned to Sapphire. "How far are we from home?"

"We are in the middle of the ocean with no mode of water transportation. The journey back will be three days, minimum."

A stunned silence followed. Steven chuckled and reached back into his backpack. "I still have some gummy worms left. Any takers? No? Just me?"


	4. The Super Fancy Dinner Party

"What's a dinner party?"

Sadie shrugged one shoulder as she finished taping the flyer to the front window of the Big Donut. Steven was holding another flyer with a confused expression on his face. The flyer talked about some kind of "dinner party" that would be held that evening at the beach, and judging by the black-and-white colors and regal silhouettes, it was a rather gallant affair.

"It's this super-fancy party where everyone dresses up and eats shrimp and little cheese cubes and stuff like that." Sadie stepped down from her step-stool as she continued, "My mom made me go to one once. It was kind of stuffy, but everyone left early when we found out that the oysters they were serving were rotten." She shivered at the memory.

Steven continued to stare down at the poster. The Crystal Gems never went to things like these - Steven couldn't remember a single time when they'd so much as held a conversation with a human, let alone a party with a group of them. But he imagined that they would enjoy it. They had stories that people would love to hear about, right? Who wouldn't want to talk about fighting a giant shark or a giant bear or a giant lemur?

"I should take the Gems! Opal is great at dancing, Sapphire could do karaoke if they had it, and I'm sure I could convince Ruby to get on the dance floor!" Steven thought for a moment. "...or she could spend the night cracking oyster shells. She likes to break things."

Sadie chewed on her cheek thoughtfully. "I don't know, Steven...It's a really fancy party. Like, ball gowns-and-tuxedos fancy."

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's just that...you remember when you guys chased that swarm of weird crabs into town?"

"Yeah...I still have nightmares..."

"The Gems can't do stuff like that there," said Sadie. "If they want to go, fine, but they may not like it."

Steven hopped off of his seat and laughed. "I'm an expert at convincing people! I'm sure that I'll get them to go! Bye, Sadie." He opened the door, but turned back to say, "Hey, you guys should put bring those bacon-wrapped donuts back."

Sadie furrowed a brow. "Why?"

"Trust me."

Steven ran off, and the door slowly closed after him. Sadie was left in the silence of the shop, thinking to herself, and finally murmured, "He's right..."

* * *

"Opal! Ruby! Sapphire!"

Steven cupped a hand around his mouth as he called for them. He couldn't hear any response, so either they weren't there or they were in their rooms somewhere.

He heard a familiar 'ping' behind him, and turned to see Ruby standing on the Warp Pad. She was holding up a Bubble in her hand, and waved to Steven as she stepped off the Pad. "Hey."

"Hey, Ruby, I have a surprise for you!" Steven unrolled the flyer in his hand and held it up to her to see. "It's a party!"

Ruby scanned her eyes down the paper and scratched at her headband. "How did you put together a party by yourself?"

Steven shook his head. "I didn't! A bunch of people are going to meet down by the beach tonight. I thought it would be cool for all of us to go."

Ruby spoke slowly, clearly not trying to upset him, but trying to be clear all the same. "Well...no offense, Steven, but parties aren't really our thing."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. We don't really GET humans. It's weird to hang out with them for us." Ruby walked to the Temple Door. It looked like a simple white wall with a star printed at its middle. The star had a gemstone at each point, pink, white, purple, red, and blue. Ruby held her palm up so that her Gem faced the door, and both it and the red gemstone glowed once before a red crack ran down the middle. Ruby stepped into her 'room', and turned back to say, "So sorry, but I'm out. You can ask the others, though."

The door closed shut, but opened again just long enough for Ruby to say, "But hey, if they have oysters or anything, get some for me to break."

The door closed again and the crack disappeared. Steven sighed disappointedly, but didn't give his hopes up. He didn't think Ruby was going to say yes, anyway, but Opal and Sapphire still might.

Speaking of Opal, she walked through the door just then, bending down considerably to avoid hitting her head. She smiled and waved at Steven warmly. "Hello, Steven!"

"Hey, I was looking for you." Steven held up the flyer to her, and she spread it out for her to read. "There's a super-fancy party tonight and I thought you would want to go! You like dancing, right?"

Opal chuckled and stepped a long leg over Steven, gracefully turning and swayed her arms as she did so. She held her long arms above her head in a pirouette, and slowly sank down to the floor in a graceful split. "Does that answer your question?"

"...Nope."

Opal sighed and pulled herself back to her feet. "Yes, I do."

"Then you'll want to come, right?"

Opal hummed thoughtfully as she approached the temple door. The white and purple gemstones flashed, and it split into four pieces. She gestured for Steven to follow her inside. "Will there be food?"

"Of course!"

"The good kind?"

"I can bring marshmallow cream if you want."

Opal hummed thoughtfully, and Steven took the time to look around her "room." It looked almost like a vast bit brightly lit cave, with shimmering boulders and rock formations everywhere, pools of crystalline water being filled with waterfalls pouring down from above. Steven could see that there were sections around the room, each belonging to one of Opal's collections. These boxes over here were filled with spoons of different sizes, designs, and materials. This dresser over here was filled with snow globes from all over the world. These jars over here were filled with glass eyeballs arranged by color.

"That sounds good to me," Opal finally said with a nod and a smile.

"Great! I can introduce you to everybody!"

Opal's smile dropped instantly. "It's a human party?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh. Um...Well, I guess I already said I would go..."

Steven frowned at the unsure way that she said that. She clearly wasn't comfortable with going to the party, dancing and food regardless. He wanted her to come, but was the point if she didn't want to?

"Um...You don't have to go. It's fine."

"Huh?" Opal shook her head side to side. The movement caused her thick ponytail to sway. "No, no, no. I said I would."

"Really, it's fine. I'm going to go ask Sapphire, too. Maybe she'll come."

Opal sighed, but her small smile was grateful. She reached down to run a hand through his messy brown curls. "Thank you, Steven." She waved at him before leaping into the air, disappearing behind one of the many waterfalls cascading down.

Steven waved goodbye back, and turned to leave...only to see that the door was missing. He and Opal had both forgotten that the door disappeared after use, and now, with Opal gone, he was alone in her Room.

"Well this is a pickle, isn't it?"

He looked around for some kind of exit, and then decided to search around for one. He passed by more of Opal's collections - shelves of DVDs, stacks of vinyl records, crates of fake insects - until he finally found something. It looked like a tunnel, and just as it curved away from sight, he could see a faint white light emitting from it.

Steven's curiosity won in the end, and he set forward to investigate. The white light was coming from small iridescent crystals embedded in the walls of the tunnels. The more he walked, the more frequent the crystals appeared, and the more the temperature dropped. Not freezing, but enough to have goosebumps appear on his arms and a shiver to run down his back. He finally found something at the end of the tunnel, and stepped forward into another 'room.'

It was really a miniature forest, now that he looked at it. The floor was flat but covered in soft teal grass that tickled his feet as he walked. The trees spread around had white bark like birch, but the leaves were stark blue and frosted in white. Cylindrical, glass-like shapes hung from the trees, and when Steven held an ear to one, he could hear a soft melody. There was a small pond in a collection of large chunks of crystals. He had no idea where he was, only that it was somewhere in the Temple.

"Hello?"

It was a moment before he heard a familiar but confused voice call, "Steven?"

He followed the voice and eventually came to a wall of thin feathery vines, much to his confusion. "Sapphire?"

"Come in."

He reached out and brushed the vines aside. His breath came out in a white puff as he stepped forward.

In the small chamber that the vines and trees made, Sapphire stood over a cushioned basin. Well, hovered, anyway. She was levitating a few feet above it, gently bobbing up and down, and her lips were parted in what he guessed was surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, uh, I followed Opal into her Room and I kind of got locked in so I was trying to find a way out, but came here instead. But I was looking for you anyway, so..."

Sapphire hummed and slowly sank down until she rested upon the cushion beneath her. "What is it that you need?"

Steven took a deep breath and pulled out the flyer. "There's this super-fancy dinner party at the beach tonight and I thought you guys would want to come and I asked Ruby but she said she really wasn't up for it and I asked Opal but she didn't really want to so I thought I would come to ask you and if you don't want to come that's okay but I was going to ask anyway - " Steven stopped so he could take in a gulp of air and let it out. "So do you want to go?"

Sapphire paused. "...I suppose I could stop by for a few minutes."

"Good," Steven said, but he didn't sound too enthusiastic when he said it. He nodded awkwardly and rolled the flyer back into his hands. "Great."

Sapphire's gaze, although Steven couldn't see it, bore into him. Finally, she reached behind her and pulled out a furry periwinkle blanket. "Why don't you come sit down for a minute?"

Steven was confused, undoubtedly, but didn't question her. He walked to the basin and crawled inside, and when he was seated cross-legged beside Sapphire, she reached out to wrap the blanket around him. It was surprisingly toasty, and Steven held it to him closely.

"I know you're upset that we don't want to go," said Sapphire. She faced away from him, but continued, "And I'm sorry to say that I can't explain it too well, but...humans and us...we're just too different."

"How?" asked Steven. "I mean, if you guys have been around humans for a long time, how can you guys be so different?'

"It's a bit too much to explain for now, but you'll get it someday. We're just not very comfortable around things that we don't understand. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. I guess." Steven still wasn't sure if he completely understood, but he could tell Sapphire was struggling with her words.

"I'll still come by for a bit, if only to make you happy," Sapphire said with just a momentary smirk.

"Okay. I better go get something fancy to wear."

"I'll let you out," Sapphire replied as she stepped down from the basin. "Follow me."

The two of them walked out of her "chamber" and headed for the far wall of the room, but Steven paused when he heard a distant voice.

"Come...on...!"

He turned his head this way and that, trying to find out where it was coming from. It sounded like Ruby, but she wasn't in there, was she? He eventually realized that it was coming from the POND, of all places. He curiously crept closer, while Sapphire obliviously continued forward.

He craned his neck over the pond water, and was surprised to find that there was an image to be seen. Reds and pinks and oranges mixed together, and he could see a scarlet figure of what he could only assume was Ruby. He leaned forward to see better - and rather inevitably slipped forward.

He heard Sapphire call his name as he hit the water - although he didn't become engulfed in it so much as he passed through it. The sensation went as quickly as he came, and he was falling through the air, having no choice other than scream in fright.

Something small but sturdy caught him before he hit the ground. He took several breaths of air before he could finally turn to Ruby, his savior, who stared at him with wide and shocked eyes. The room around them was round and nearly everything was red, and there was a pit of fire in the middle. Above, in the midst of what looked like glass roots, were dozens of Bubbles.

"What - What are you doing here?"

"He fell." Steven looked upwards and saw a misshapen circle of liquid in the ceiling above - he could only assume that it was the pond he had fallen through. Sapphire was poking her head through, staring down at them. "He got locked in the Temple by accident."

"Is everything okay?" Suddenly, at another 'pond' on the ceiling, Opal's head and wild white hair appeared. "I heard screaming!"

Ruby scoffed and set Steven on his feet. Sternly but not harshly, she said, "You're not supposed to be in here until you could open the door yourself. It's way too dangerous here!"

"I didn't mean too! I got locked in."

Ruby sighed softly and turned around, letting a Bubble hover at a fixed point. Steven curiously looked around her. There were several Bubbles around, but they only continued tiny pieces and shards, not actual Gems.

"What are you doing?"

Ruby gestured to a Bubble containing a few mismatched shards. "Trying to separate these Gem shards before they have time to regenerate. It's really tricky and I need concentration, so follow me."

Ruby led him to the far wall of her room and waved her hand across it. The door appeared instantly, and it opened to Steven's Room. Ruby gestured for him to go ahead as she walked back to her work. Over her shoulder, she called, "Have fun at your party!"

"I will!" She heard Steven reply.

Ruby held the Bubble in one hand and held the other one, ready to capture. She had to work carefully and quickly, snagging the right Gem shard without letting the others regenerate their forms. She took a deep breath, raised her hand, let the Bubble drop -

"Have you seen where I put my top hat?"

Ruby jumped at Steven's sudden voice. "Ah, no - !" But it was too late. The shards jumped out of her palm and were already reforming themselves. Thick, muscular limbs fell to the floor, in different colors and shapes. They made a beeline for the door, and Steven yelped as he dove out of the path of danger.

The limbs sped across the wooden floor to the door of Steven's room, tearing through the screen and clambering down the stairs.

Ruby had run out of her room, with Opal and Sapphire following behind. Steven pulled himself to his feet and was about to apologize when Ruby began to sputter out a growl. Then, suddenly, Ruby threw her head back and just plain ROARED in anger. The others flinched at the blast of heat that rolled off of her.

Ruby threw her arm forward and just barely sputtered out, "Go. Now. Get."

They were out the door and chasing them immediately. Either the Gems forgot or didn't mind that Steven was following them, because no one said anything. The beach outside was dark now, the sky faded purple and the moon shining brightly down. Still, Steven could see lights ahead, like candles.

It took him a second to realize that the candles weren't just candles; they were the super-fancy dinner party.

Women in floor-length dresses and men in pressed tuxedos were walking underneath a black canopy, drinking glasses of sparkling wine and chewing on tiny cheese cubes. There were a few men playing violins and string basses, and long black tables covered in platters of icy oysters, glasses of red sauce and shrimp, plates of cheese blocks and crackers, an arrangement of fruit pieces looking almost untouched. Over his beating breath and pounding heart, he could hear the murmurs of conversation and a few chuckles and giggles...

...all of which cut off in screams when they saw the Gems and the sentient limbs heading straight for them. People grabbed each other's hands and dove out of the way. One of the limbs went straight underneath a table, and the chocolate fountain went splattering everywhere.

Opal pulled back the string of her bow and fired, but all that resulted in was a dodging leg and a blast of sand. Sapphire tried to claw at another leg, but it was, for lack of a better term, dancing out of her way each time. Ruby was literally arm-wrestling with a purple arm and losing. One woman stopped to turn and yell for her daughter to run. The dark-haired girl in a blue dress was having trouble doing so when people kept clustering around her, and the leg that Sapphire was having trouble with kept coming dangerously close to her.

Steven grabbed the platter of cheese and crackers and...He paused, not sure whether it would be rude or not to toss it to the sand. He decided to just toss it at the people with a shout of "GRAB EVERYTHING YOU WANT!"

He took the platter and managed to bring it swinging down on the leg. With it pinned, Sapphire quickly swung her knuckledusters down, and it poofed in a puff of smoke. She quickly Bubbled its shard and sent it to the Temple. Steven continued on while Sapphire grabbed the girl's hand and weaved her out of the confused crowd to safety.

The leg that was evading Opal was now doing an expert job of weaving between the legs of the partygoers. It was too close a call for Opal to fire an arrow, but her shouts for the people to simply calm down and stop moving were futile. Steven tried to think of what could be said to actually make them stop moving. Finally, in a high-pitched voice, he cried, "I dropped my wedding ring!"

All bodies froze at once. Steven grabbed the leg by its...well, leg, and pulled it out to open view. Opal wasted no time in all but spearing it with an arrow and Bubbling its discarded Gem. She went to helping a few people who had fallen over on themselves.

Ruby was still arm-wrestling with the last limb remaining, and Steven knew that she didn't really like to be helped, so he just grabbed a towel from one of the tables and wiped it across her forward. Ruby's bated breath managed to make a "thanks" and she finally threw her arm down. The limb poofed instantly, and Ruby Bubbled it.

Steven closed his eyes shut turned to the crowd guiltily. Unsurely, he spoke up, "Sorry we messed up your party. We didn't mean to, we were just trying to help and we got in the way. We'll go away n - oh."

No one was sparing them a glance, instead helping set up fallen tables and chairs and getting the chocolate fountain upright again. One man walking by just chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it. Actually, I think we owe you thanks. You can stay if you want."

"O-Oh! Thanks!" Steven scratched his arm and turned to the others. "Um...If you guys want to head home, we can."

The Crystal Gems glanced between themselves and Steven. Ruby waved Opal and Sapphire forward, and the three of them huddled to speak under their breaths. A moment later, they pulled back and nodded at one another.

As Steven watched, the three of them were cast in light for no more than a second, and their forms had changed. Opal was wearing a shimmering periwinkle ball gown. Sapphire was in a long-sleeved navy dress with a full skirt. Ruby was dressed in a tuxedo with a red bow tie.

"Anybody want oysters?" Ruby's outburst was met with a few murmurs of agreement. "Come on! I'll crack 'em for ya!"

Sapphire turned to the men that were setting their instruments back up. "Do you know how to play 'La Vie En Rose'?" She was met with nods and affirmations. "I will be joining you in song."

The music started up again, this time accompanied with Sapphire's smooth, light voice. Opal turned to Steven and frowned, scratching at her chin. She turned to the crowd and called, "Does anyone have a top hat?"

An arm belonging to a random bystander appeared with one near-instantly. "Here ya go!"

Opal set the top hat on Steven's head and held out a hand to him. "May I have this dance?"

Steven giggled, but bowed and took his hand in hers. "M'lady."

Opal chuckled and, with Ruby cracking open oysters and Sapphire moving her voice to the melody, they made their way to the dance floor.


	5. The Shapeshifter

"So...what is it that you need help with?"

Steven pointed up at the sign of the "It's a Wash". The 'H' had fallen down, and Steven had another one at his side for replacement. "We need to replace that letter. Dad says 'It's a Was' isn't really a good name for a carwash."

Ruby nodded and intertwined her fingers to crack her knuckles. She picked up the replacement letter and a hammer from the toolbox beside her. "I got this."

"Alright! I'll go get the ladder!"

Steven turned on his heel, but Ruby called out, "You don't need to!"

Before Steven could ask why, Ruby went into bright red light and quite literally grew up. Her short, stocky legs extended as if made of rubber up, and up, and up, until she was level with the sign. She put the new 'H' on and started to hammer it in place, all while Steven stared in awe.

Greg arrived then, holding a tray of glasses of homemade lemonade in his hands. He walked up to Steven, letting him grab a glass. "So how's the sign coming al - WHOA!"

Greg jumped all too suddenly, and one of the lemonades went toppling over. Ruby was oblivious to his shock and simply stood back to admire her handiwork before steadily shrinking back down to her regular form. She brushed off the front of her shirt as if it were nothing.

Steven ran up to her at once, startling her to jump. "What was that? How did you grow so tall?"

Ruby put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him. "Have we seriously not talked to you about shapeshifting yet?"

Steven shook his head slowly, his eyes full of stars.

Ruby hummed, but nevertheless explained, "Gems have the ability to change their forms anyway we want to. So we can do this - " Ruby demonstrated by extending her arms to twice their regular length and then shrinking them back. " - Or this - " She went into bright light again, and when she stopped, Steven was looking at a red-hued mirror of himself. " - or this." She changed into a hammer this time, and Steven's jaw was hanging to the ground as he picked her up. She lit up again, and Steven let go of her to let her reform. She stretched out her arms and legs with a sigh. "We can pretty much do anything."

"Dad, isn't that cool?"

Greg winced uncomfortably, and Ruby scratched her neck sheepishly. She forgot that Greg had problems with shapeshifting, or any of their magic, really. "Um...yeah. Sure. Anyway, thanks for helping with the sign."

"Eh, no problem." Ruby held her arms behind her head and walked away with a simple, "Later."

Steven looked down at his hands curiously. "Do you think I can shapeshift?"

Greg sputtered into his lemonade, and the yellow liquid dribbled down his front. He wasn't too happy with the idea of his son's legs shooting to three times their normal size, or of him turning into a tool anytime soon. "Erm...Maybe. Let's not try it out here, though, okay?"

Steven's smile fell, but he nodded. Child or not, Steven knew when Greg was uncomfortable with Gem stuff. Sometimes he got it - he didn't exactly enjoy it when a plant monster tried to attack the It's a Wash, either - but other times, he didn't quite understand his discomfort. Like when he had told him that he had finally summoned his Weapon to protect him and the Gems from the Wasp Queen. Greg didn't cheer his praises for that one.

He dropped it, quickly, though, and put his smile back on as he raced for the van. "Anyway! I got some donuts for us!" He threw open the doors of Greg's van (Opal had helped him in repairing the roof of it) and reached inside. "They're selling baconuts again!"

Greg let out an "ooh!" at that and sat down beside him on the edge of the van. For a minute, they sat there; chewing on 'baconuts' and sipping lemonade, until Steven finally spoke up, "So...why don't you like shapeshifting?"

Greg paused and set his drink down. He put his palms on his knees and said, slowly, "It's just...not what I'm used to. I never knew about magic and spells and stuff until I met the Gems, and...I dunno, it kind of zoinked me out, I guess."

Steven hummed thoughtfully. He was used to being zoinked out his whole life - the Gems always had something new to show him. He could remember the first time Sapphire told him about future vision, and the first time he saw Opal use her arrow. He can remember a distant memory of Ruby passing him to someone else when her body heated up too much for his own safety. But he was also used to going to the new-year fireworks with his Dad, riding his bike around town, stopping at Fish Pizza just to say hello. He wished that there was some way to get Greg used to it, like some innocent act of magic that wouldn't freak him out too much.

A car pulled up to the It's a Wash, and Greg stuffed the rest of his baconut into his mouth and rubbed his hands to get the crumbs off. "Oof! Duty calls!"

Steven nodded and hopped down from the van. "See you later!" He waved goodbye to his Dad and took off for the Temple. He had a few questions to ask.

* * *

"You want to know how to shapeshift?"

Steven nodded fervently. Opal and Sapphire glanced at one another unsurely. Steven had just summoned his shield for the first time not too long ago, so they weren't sure if he was ready for shapeshifting just yet.

Nevertheless, Opal murmured, "I guess we could try... But nothing too big or small. Let's take baby steps."

"Oh, uh...I can grow my arms out, right?"

"That sounds good. Okay, follow my lead," said Opal.

She held out her four arms and took a deep breath, and Steven mimicked her stance.

"Empty your mind and calm down."

Steven did just that.

"Now think about what you want to do."

Longarmslongarmslongarms...

"And now, just feel it. Push out your arms. Reach."

Steven's eyes squeezed in concentration. He imagined how it would feel, his skin and bones stretching out painlessly, reaching and reaching...

"Steven! You did it!"

Steven opened his eyes and gasped at the sight of his arms. They were twice their usual length, yet they felt surprisingly the same. He wiggled his fingers experimentally. "I did!" He held his breath and tried bringing them back, and to his surprise and relief, they shrank back down to his usual size. "I can finally reach the top shelf now!"

"Great job, Steven!" Steven smiled up at Opal's praise...and blanched. What with Opal's height and her stretched arms, she looked kind of OFF, like a spider, almost. The image was gone as soon as she retracted her arms back. "You did so well!"

Steven nodded in thanks, but said, "I want to try something else!"

Sapphire and Opal were not weary, and Sapphire sounded borderline interested as she asked, "Like what?"

"I want to shapeshift into somebody!"

This time, Sapphire and Opal did frown, although it wasn't out of doubt so much as curiosity. Opal hummed. "I don't know...shapeshifting into someone else is a bit more difficult."

"I just have to concentrate and think about what the person looks like, right?"

"Well, yes, but - "

"I can do it!"

Opal bit her lip unsurely, but in the end, she muttered, "Okay."

Steven took a calming breath and slowly closed his eyes. He imagined what it would feel like, to have tresses of hair brushing gently against his arms and back. He thought about the feeling of cloth on his hands, swaths of it drifting around him as he moved. He thought of his lips moving when he talked, his chest rising as he breathed, and -

He heard a snort from Opal when she tried to contain her laughter. "Oh my...!"

Steven opened an eye curiously, but realized that he couldn't see anything. Experimentally, he raised a hand to his face. His arm felt thinner, and his hands were covered in a tight but not uncomfortable material, and they came into contact with something soft that covered his sight. He pulled it away like a curtain, and found Sapphire as stoic as ever, but Opal with her hands pressed to her lips as she tried to stifle his laughter.

"What is it?" As he talked, his lips felt different, rounder and plumper.

"Steven, that's perfect!"

Steven looked down at himself. He had become almost the mirror image of Sapphire, albeit with his clothes and colors. He had Sapphire's thin arms and small stature, and slightly plump legs, albeit in his tan skin. His clothes fit differently, hanging off of his body, but he had Sapphire's long hair, brown and pulled away from his eyes.

Opal continued to cackle, but Sapphire said, "Good job."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Steven covered his eyes again and cleared his throat. He kept his face flat and his voice even as he droned, "Hello. My name is Stevphire. Pleased to meet your acquantinance."

Opal snorted again, and Sapphire's lips quivered as she tried not to smirk at the impression of herself.

"Hold on!"

Steven shut his eyes again and did the same process as before. His hair shrank in length but expanded in size, and he felt his T-shirt and jeans fit snugger around his body as muscles appeared in his arms and legs. With a few more rearrangements of his face, he had turned into a Steven-colored copy of Ruby. His hair was in a square afro, uncontained by the headband that the red Gem usually wore.

He put on a light, raspy voice and growled, "MY NAME IS STEVEBY. I'M ANGRY ALL THE TIME! HOORAH!" He made a show of flipping the coffee table over on its side and trembling with rage all the while.

Opal was quaking with laughter by this point, and even Sapphire allowed herself to smile

"Last one, last one!"

Steven commanded his legs to extend in length and felt a second pair of arms forming at his sides. His hair spilled down his back, his lips puffed, and his nose extended outwards. A few final touches, and he twirled around. "Hello~! I am Stevpal. Won't you join me in a dance?"

Sapphire's face was flat again and Opal's smile had frozen on her mouth. Steven's torso was a bit too short for his longer, curvier legs, and his second pair of arms came about halfway to the original pair. His long brown hair wasn't pulled back and was a wild mess around him, and it was all topped off by the uncannily exact face of Opal.

"Well?"

Opal continued to smile, but her blue eyes were wide and her pupils had shrunken in what could only be described as fear. "Yeah. Great job."

The door to Steven's Room opened, and Ruby appeared with her hand on the knob. "Alright, are you guys ready to - GAH!"

She screamed in fright at the sight of "Stevepal", and her sudden reaction cause Steven to shift right back into his old self. Sapphire helped him to his feet while Opal sighed in relief behind them. Steven stood to his feet and proudly proclaimed, "I can shapeshift now!"

Ruby's breath came out in a shudder, but she nevertheless said, "Good job, Steven. Anyway, Opal, Sapphire, time to go!"

When the three of them made their way to the Warp Pad, Steven called, "Can I come with you?"

Ruby shook her head and explained, "This one's too much for you to handle. Maybe next time."

The three of them could sense Steven's rebuttal coming on, and Opal gently advised, "But you can practice your shapeshifting! Maybe you'll be an expert by the time we get back!"

All thoughts of arguing went out of Steven's head when she said that, and he gave them a double thumbs-up. "You got it! I'll be the Shapeshifting Master! See you guys when you get back!"

He made a beeline for the door and threw it open, and his footsteps went softer and softer as he made his way down the stairs. As the Warp Pad lit with life, Opal hissed through gritted teeth, "That was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen."

* * *

Steven went to the Big Donut for his first visit. Sadie was at the counter, wiping down the surface, and lifted up her head when she heard the bell signaling his arrival. She smiled warmly at him. "Hey, Steven."

"Hello, Sadie, my lady." Steven hummed in thought and pointed behind Sadie, asking, "When did you guys put that mirror there?"

Sadie frowned and turned to see what he was pointing at. Steven took advantage of the moment and quickly shapeshifted his body.

Sadie turned back around. "I don't see any mirror...Whoa! Steven!"

Steven had become Sadie's image now, brown hair turned fluffy and shoulder-length, height rising just a few inches. He winked and pointed at Sadie as he said, "Don't you mean...Stevadie?"

Sadie's mouth had dropped open in shock, but she eventually smiled with a disbelieving laugh. "That's so cool! How did you do that?"

"It's just a trick I picked up back home." He struck a pose against the counter, and Sadie giggled at the sight. "You like what you see?"

Something in the backroom shuffled, and Sadie gasped and turned to Steven with an ear-to-ear grin. "Lars is coming! Quick, do him!"

Steven ducked down and out of sight, and Lars appeared not a moment later. He was grumbling under his breath and there was a flurry of dust covering the front of his shirt. "The heater broke again. Stupid machine..."

Sadie struggled to keep her face passive as she said, "Hey, Lars, you didn't tell me you had a twin."

Lars had just pulled open a drawer and was now staring at her with confused eyes. "Um...I don't."

"But he's standing right behind you!"

"What are you talking about?" Lars turned around and blanched at what he saw.

Steven scoffed at Lars's attention and tossed his head so the small bit of dark hair on his forehead moved. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and droned, "Ugh, that's so not cool, Lars. Pretending not to know your own brother. Ugh."

Lars glared at Steven, his tan skin tinged pink at Sadie's giggles. "Steven - "

"Hey, it's Stevars. Or did you forget?"

"Steven, knock it off!"

"Pfft. Whatever." Steven turned on his heel and called back, "See you dweebs later!"

Sadie managed to call through her laughs, "Bye, Stevars!"

As Steven left, he heard Lars berating Sadie and laughed as he took off for his next stop.

* * *

Beach Citywalk Fries was a tiny restaurant on the boardwalk around Beach City, belonging to the Fryman family. As Steven approached he could see Peedee Fryman at the counter, waiting eagerly for any customers. Steven concentrated and shifted, his brown hair turning into thick curls, his teeth splitting into a gap, his limbs going gangly. He checked his handiwork before walking up to the counter.

Peedee didn't even blink when Steven approached, instead just gladly asking, "Welcome to the Beach Citywalk Fries! What will you be ordering today, Steven?"

"Steven? My name is Stevee!"

"What will you be ordering today, Stevee?"

"...Are you really not curious about this?"

"What. Will. You. Be. Ordering. Today. Stevee?"

Steven deflated in disappointment, but nevertheless sighed, "Give me the bits. And some sweet potato fries, if you have him."

Peedee left and returned within ten seconds with a greasy bag of 'fry bits' (really just the bits of fries that got stuck at the bottom of the fryer) and a bag of sweet potato fries. Steven reached into his pocket for a few dollar bills, but before Peedee could take them, he was all but shoved out of view by his older brother, Ronaldo.

"AMAZING!" Ronaldo leaned all the way over the counter to stare at Steven's form closely. "YOU'RE A SHAPESHIFTER!"

Steven laughed and winked at him. "Surprised?"

Ronaldo stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes at him. "This goes against my research." A smile broke across his face and he pulled out his cellphone from his pocket. "Can you shapeshift into me? I'll post the video on my blog!"

Steven nodded and set his food down to concentrate. He focused on Ronaldo's curly locks of hair, his taller stature, his stockier build, thinking, pushing...

"What's taking so long?"

Steven looked down at himself. He was still Stevee, not Stevaldo. He tried again, but nothing changed. He tried again, harder this time, but whimpered in fright when he just turned into Stevphire. "W- Wha - ?!"

Ronaldo seemed to ignore the boy's obvious fear in favor of narrating his video. "As you can see, the shapeshifter is having difficulty changing his form into that of the handsome Ronaldwhoa, hey! Come back here!"

Steven had taken off running, too panicked and confused to do anything. He heard Peedee trying to tell him to come back for his food, while Ronaldo shouted, "You can't hide forever!"

* * *

Greg pulled down the gate of the drive-through down with a huff. It was twilight now, and stars had begun to spot the sky. It was a decent day of work, about six cars coming in for a wash, and he was kind of disappointed to see Steven leave. Truth be told, he didn't get to see Steven as much as he wished. When Steven was younger, they spent every waking moment together, but he had moved in with the Gems years ago and now just saw him every other day.

He sighed when he remembered Steven's confusion when he asked him why he was uncomfortable with shapeshifting and whatnot. He didn't mean to come off as if he was uncomfortable with Steven - he loved him, of course. He was always telling himself to just relax when it came to Gem stuff, but couldn't help the jump his body made whenever he saw their forms change from normal, or their bodies turn into light. He was hoping to keep talking to Steven, but he left before he -

"Dad?"

Greg turned around at Steven's voice. He could see a silhouette just beyond a streetlamp's light. The figure stepped forward, and Greg stood to his feet in surprise. It was Ruby, but wearing Steven's clothes, her eye, skin, and hair color mirroring his son's.

Greg was confused at first, but his confusion quickly turned to anger. "Ruby?! What are you doing? Stop that!"

"No, it's me! It's Steven!"

Greg felt his breath leave him. Sure enough, that was Steven's voice coming out, and when he looked into his eyes, he could almost see his son staring back at him. "Steven? What are you doing?"

"I was trying to shapeshift! I thought it was easy, but now I...Look!"

Steven suddenly hunched over and began to shake. Greg's arms hovered around him, unsure of what to do. He watched as Steven's hair grew out in long tresses, his arms thinning down and his legs changing shape. When he pulled back, he had the face of Sapphire, part for the eyes that were full of fear.

"I can't change back into myself!"

"Okay, okay, uh..." Greg was already sweating dramatically as he tried to wrap his head around things. What were they supposed to do? Was Steven in pain? Where were the Gems? "J-Just calm down, okay? Um...Just concentrate on being you! Remember what if feels like to be you!"

Steven nodded and tried again, but as his features began to shift, his hair turning into a single piece on his head but his face appearing feminine, Greg realized that he was turning into a bizarre combination of Lars and Sadie.

"It's not working!"

"Steven, it...it's okay! Just keep trying!"

Steven let out some bated gasps of air and tried again, and Greg's breath caught in his throat as he watched his son's body rise, extend, squeeze, and shrink. Steven continued to groan and whimper, and eventually just stopped. Greg felt tears in his eyes when he saw what he had become.

Steven now had three arms, all different shapes and sizes. One of his legs was long and muscular, while the other was short and knobby. His nose was jutting out from his face, and his eyes were two different shapes. Sweat shone on his skin.

"Dad! I can't do it! I'm sorry!"

Greg was now freely crying, tears running down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. "It's okay, Steven! You don't have anything to be sorry about. It was an accident..."

"I thought...I thought..." Steven took in a deep breath. "I thought I could show you that there wasn't anything to worry about, but I was wrong!"

"Steven, just...just come here."

Greg held his arms open, and Steven all but fell into them. Greg stroked his long tresses of brown hair, despite the fact that his entire body was shaking uncontrollably.

"It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong, this is no one's fault. Just...I'm here, okay? Dad's here. Calm down."

Steven went silent, and when Greg peeked downwards, he saw that his long leg was shrinking and the short one was extending.

"It's okay. I'm here. I've got you."

Steven's hair shrank back to his skull, and the third arm shriveled away, bit by bit.

"Daddy's here. Everything's okay."

Finally, he put both of his hands underneath Steven's arms and held him back at arm's length. Steven was still shaking, but he was back to his regular form. His eyes were squeezed shut and tears were at the corners of his eyes.

"Steven, look. You're good now. You're fine."

Steven opened one brown eye, then the other, and sighed in relief. He pulled Greg in for another hug, and murmured into his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. Are you okay?"

Steven nodded and pulled back. When his feet were on the ground, he looked up at Greg and asked, "Are YOU okay?"

"No. I'm not. In fact, I'm just going to lay here in a fetal position until I can breathe again."

Greg slowly sank to his knees, then his side, before pulling his knees to his chest and huffing in air, over and over. Steven chuckled and pat his shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay. Steven's here."

* * *

It was the next morning before the Gems returned home from their mission. They appeared on the Warp Pad with the telltale curtains of light, and Opal sent the Bubble in her hand away immediately after.

"Morning!" Steven called from the kitchen. He finished pouring hot black coffee into a mug that read "#1 COOL MAMA" and placed it on the counter as he added, "I made you guys some 'Welcome Home Snacks'!"

There was a round of thank-yous as they approached the island and grabbed their snacks - the sweet potato fries for Ruby, the cup of coffee for Sapphire, and a toaster strudel with tartar sauce for Opal. As they ate, Ruby spoke up, "So, how has the Shapeshifting Master been doing?"

Steven shrugged as he buttered a bagel for himself. "I'm going to hold off on shapeshifting for a while."

Opal tossed the rest of her strudel into her mouth before she asked, "Why?"

"Well, while you guys were gone, my shapeshifting powers went kind of crazy and I turned into a combination of everyone I shapeshifted into. It was pa-rit-ee horrifying. Anyway! I'll try to practice at some other time. Does anybody want a bagel?"

The Gems had frozen, their eyes wide and their mouths in hard lines. Ruby cleared her throat hoarsely, and Sapphire droned, "Yes. Please. Thank you."


	6. The Warrior

Steven put the box to "Megalomania" beside him and reached for another. He checked the title - "Slides N' Steps" - and put that aside as well. He seriously needed to clean out his closet sometime, or at the very least organize the board games in some manner. He bit his lip, going through one after the other. Chance, So Not Sorry, Sugarworld, The Developers of this Game could not Come Up with a Title...here it was!

He grabbed the box to Kitchen Calamity and hurried down the stairs. Opal and Sapphire were waiting for him at the 'living room' portion of Steven's Room, Opal lying cross-legged on the sofa while Sapphire sat at the end of the table.

"Alright, here we go." He opened the box, set the board out, and started taking out the game pieces. "Opal, you can be the spilt milk."

He dropped the small brass figurine of an overturned milk carton into Opal's awaiting palm. "Oh no, I'm gonna cry! Get it? Crying over spilt milk? I'm a genius..."

She said that joke every time she got that piece, so Steven just went ahead, "Sapphire, you can be the rotten apple."

He passed the figurine of the shriveled apple core to Sapphire, who just stared down at it for a moment before humming and putting it in the START position.

"And Ruby can be the burnt toast!"

He picked up the figurine, but frowned when he only just then noticed that the small red Gem was not in the room. "Um..."

Opal placed her spilt-milk-figurine into the START position and sighed before telling him gently, "Sorry, Steven. Ruby had to go on a mission."

Steven let out an awkward "Oh..." and put the burnt-toast-piece away. He grabbed the overcooked-soufflé-piece and put in START. Then he grabbed the dice, rolled, and moved forward three spaces to a card space. "You have made your first successful batch of cookies. The person to your right moves forward two spaces."

Sapphire reached out to move her piece, and as Opal reached for the dice, Steven finally spoke up, "So...why does Ruby always go on missions by herself?"

Opal shrugged her top shoulders as the dice went rolling on the table. "Ruby likes to do things on her own so she can improve. Sort of like practice? Anyway, she never gets in trouble or anything, so we let her go. Yay!" She clapped her bottom hands excitedly while one of her top hands moved her piece from one side of the Spatula Bridge to the other.

"Huh."

Sapphire rolled the dice and moved forward a few spaces to a card space. She read the card aloud. "You have accidentally injured a family member whilst kneading dough. Move back to START." She hummed and moved her piece back.

"She must be, like, a super warrior to go fight monsters by herself all the time!"

"That's not a WRONG way of describing Ruby. We may all be protectors of Earth, but Ruby is the real fighter. A one-Gem army, you could say."

They went on playing the game, and Sapphire eventually won when Opal was attacked by Cheese Thieves. All the while, Steven kept thinking about Ruby and how she was fighting a giant Gem monster all by herself. She probably wasn't as strong as Opal, but was a good match for her. Ruby fought with almost warlike tactics, analyzing her enemy and pinpointing the weak spots. She truly was a miniature powerhouse, now that he thought about it.

Opal and Sapphire eventually left, and as Steven put away the board game, he brought up an image in his head. Him and Ruby, back-to-back, fighting off Gem monsters left and right, punching and throttling until Steven finally defeated it and Ruby gushed about how cool he was and - Okay, that was probably pushing it.

That didn't stop him from running up the stairs for his cheeseburger-backpack.

* * *

It was about an hour later until Ruby returned with three Gem-filled Bubbles hovering above her palms. They disappeared when she clenched her hands into fists, and she waved at Steven as she stepped down from the Warp Pad. "Hey, Steven."

"Hey."

Ruby walked past him to the refrigerator, and as she did, she asked, "Where are you going?"

Steven nervously clutched the straps of his backpack in his fingers. "I actually wanted to ask you something..."

Ruby reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. She turned her head to talk over her shoulder. "Make it quick. I have to go back out on another mission."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Um...do you think...I..."

"Use your words, Steven."

"Can I come with you?"

To his surprise, Ruby did not immediately answer 'no', albeit her eyebrows did rise at his question. She hummed and crossed her muscular arms over her chest, speaking slowly as if more to herself than him. "I don't know. This is way more dangerous than the missions you've been on before..."

"But that means I'll be progressing, right?" Ruby still seemed unconvinced, so he added in a particularly insinuative tone, "Plus, if anything goes wrong, you'll be there with me."

Steven could tell that Ruby was trying to hide a prideful smirk. She cleared her throat and finally said, "Fine, you can come. But you have to do everything I tell you to do, okay?"

"Aye-aye, Captain Roobs!"

"And you can't call me that."

"Aye-aye, Captain. Oh! And I have a surprise for after!" Steven reached into his backpack and took out a piece of folded paper. He waved it around for a moment before putting it back.

"Great. Let's go."

* * *

When the lights vanished and gravity returned, Steven looked around where they were. It looked like somewhere near a volcano of sorts, judging by the fields of black rock and the stream of red-hot magma some twenty yards away. It was also very HOT, and Steven's skin was shining within minutes. Ahead, there was what Steven could only describe as a giant black cube of stone in the midst of it all.

"Come on." Ruby stepped down from the Warp Pad and made a beeline for the black cube ahead.

Steven followed her, and although the rock wasn't technically melting his feet off, he was grateful for his sandals. When they reached the black cube, there was a single rectangular hole in the side facing them, like a sort of door. Ruby stepped inside and gestured for Steven to follow.

Steven's jaw dropped at what was inside. Up and down, left and right, from corner to corner, were stairs upon stairs. Some stairs were underneath other stairs, others branched off. Steven could only see two walls in the 'room', filled with dozens of passageways, but couldn't see any to his left and right, as if they were in the middle of a canyon instead. There was no doubt in Steven's mind that the inside was far bigger than what the outside told.

"What is this place?" asked Steven. "It's so...mindblow-y."

Ruby held his arm with one hand and used the other to point ahead. "Look."

Some ten yards away, almost obscured by the crossing staircases, was...something hovering in midair, casting off multicolored light. Steven couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but it looked like the wooden jigsaw block he had at home.

"That's what we need to get," said Ruby.

"Okay," said Steven. "So we just have to jump across, right?"

He lifted a foot off over the edge of their staircase, but Ruby suddenly wrapped her arms around him and yanked him backwards. No sooner had she done that then a jet of white-hot plasma suddenly appeared exactly where Steven would have been. It vanished almost as quickly as it had come, and Ruby's teeth were grit as she said, "We can't do that. We have to follow the stairs."

"Oh. My bad." Steven took a step forward, only for Ruby to gently hold her arm to his chest as she walked by.

"I walk first," she said.

"Okie-dokie, artichoke-ie."

They walked ahead to the end of the staircase, where it went into the far wall. Inside, there was a square room, and at the middle the floor was a collection of panels. One of the panels was lit white, and Ruby curiously stepped down on it. The second she did, another white panel appeared, accompanied by a low ring.

"We need to stay on the white panels," said Ruby.

"Oh, like hopscotch?"

"Yes, except we might die if we screw this up."

"Oh."

Ruby stepped forward again, and another white panel showed up for her to follow. Steven followed behind, landing in her footsteps. When Ruby started to get faster with her steps, the panels' rings became faster, their pitches ranging, almost like a song.

"Hey, this almost sounds like music," he called to Ruby.

"Um...I guess."

"We should sing something!"

"Steven, I don't - "

 _"I am Steven and this is Ruby_

 _Uh..._

 _La-la-la-la-something-that-rhymes with Ruby._

 _We are going to defeat whatever comes our way_

 _Monsters, meansters, whatever it may..."_

"Steven - "

 _"Because we are determined to save the day."_

"Steven."

 _"And make all the no-good, bad-doers pay!"_

"STEVEN!"

Ruby came to a halt to spin around and face the boy, unaware that he was all but dancing across the white panels after her. He ended up colliding with her, and the two tumbled to the floor, hitting several panels that went black at their touch.

Above them, a piece of the ceiling disappeared, and a giant stone on a chain came falling down straight for them. Steven yelped and instinctively hugged Ruby closer, squeezing his eyes shut in terror.

There was no pain or, well, death, so he opened his eyes in confusion. A huge, glassy pink bubble had appeared around him and Ruby, and the stone had all but bounced off of it. He and Ruby both sat up in surprise. The stone slowly lifted back into the ceiling, and Steven looked down at his Gem. It was glowing faintly, but when the stone finally left, the bubble disappeared in a pop.

"What was that?"

"A protective bubble." Ruby prodded at his Gem, eliciting giggles from him. "Rose could do that, too. It's not as good as the shield, but this could work..." She stroked her chin in that.

"I guess this just kind of...POPPED out of nowhere, right?"

Ruby blinked at him.

"No?"

Ruby shook her head slowly.

"Sorry."

Ruby sighed and waved him forward. "Let's keep moving."

Steven complied, but still kept his eyes on his Gem. He tried to summon the bubble up again, but he couldn't figure out how to do it. It almost felt instinctive, like when you touch something hot and can't help but reel back. He just hoped it would be easier to figure out than the shield.

The end of the room led directly back to the room filled with stairs, albeit on another staircase now crossing ABOVE their desired object rather than below it. Ruby analyzed their location for a minute, undoubtedly trying to figure out the insane mechanics of the place.

"So..." Steven rocked back and forth on his heels. "Is it fun going out by yourself all the time?"

Ruby didn't seem to hear him immediately, and only replied moments later "What? Oh, um, I guess. I just like to work on my own."

"Why?"

"Because it helps me improve my combat."

She continued walking up the stairs, and as he followed, Steven asked, "But isn't it dangerous not to have any backup?"

"I don't know, maybe...But I can handle myself. I used to be a...Oh, come on."

The next room had an array of wires from wall to wall. Steven didn't have to think twice to know that they weren't supposed to touch them, and Ruby knew it, too. She looked at the wires up and down, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Hm...It looks like there could be booby traps here."

"Don't you mean...Ruby-traps?"

Ruby snorted.

"You laughed!"

"That was fine. Anyway! You're going to stay close behind me, and do everything that I do. Capiche?"

"Ca-pee-chay."

Ruby cautiously lifted one leg over a wire to the other side. She dipped underneath another wire hanging over her head, and crawled under another. Steven follower her behind with difficulty, not at all helped by his bulging backpack.

"So, like, do you always fight things on missions? Like, giant bugs and birds and whatever? 'Cause if we come across one here, I have an idea that we can do. You can distract the monster while I - "

"Steven, let's just handle that when we get to it, okay?"

"Alright. I was just curi - WHOA!"

As he was lifting a leg to step over another wire, the tip of his toe caught on it. A slit appeared in the ceiling above, and balls of hot fire came raining down. Steven hardly had time to react before his bubble appeared again. Although he was protected, the appearance of it ended up shoving Ruby forward, right into the wires like a web. Arrows, bombs, and knives came flying at her from every direction.

Steven watched in awe as she dodged each attack almost flawlessly, with almost analytical speed. She made it all the way to the other side without a scratch. Steven's bubble snapped the wires as he moved forward, and it only fell away when he reached Ruby's side, albeit unwillingly.

Steven reached out a hand to put on her shoulder, but reeled back when he felt how hot she was. "Um...are you okay?"

Ruby stood trembling to her feet. She turned to him and took a deep breath until her nerves calmed. "It's fine. Just an accident. Let's keep going."

* * *

Steven ultimately proved to be more of a burden than he intended.

No matter what room they came across as they came closer and closer to their prize, Steven somehow managed to do something troublesome. Only move when the flames were blue? Steven tripped when they were red. Don't break any of the glass spires? Steven broke nearly all of them. Don't make a sound? Steven sneezed.

Each and every time, the bubble around him appeared involuntarily, and Ruby had to suffer through the consequences. She never managed to get injured, thankfully, but that didn't mean there weren't any close calls.

And every time, Ruby would get hotter, steam puffing through her nose, body trembling more and more, yet she always bit down her anger and kept going. There was no more talking part for her telling Steven what to do...and him failing to do exactly that.

At long last, they made it through the last room to the winding staircase leading to their prize. Steven's toe caught on the stair before him, and ended up crashing straight into Ruby, who had stopped to look up at the jigsaw-block thingy. Steven simply stumbled, while Ruby ended up falling onto the stairs with a rather rough landing.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

This seemed to be the final straw for her.

She stood to her feet and faced Steven, and although she wasn't glaring at him acidly, her jaw was clenched and heat was rolling off of her in waves.

"Steven," she said. Her voice was slow and clipped each word. "What did I tell you to do before we came here?"

"...Everything you told me to do?"

"That's right. And have you done that?"

Steven stared down at his feet. He was too humiliated to keep looking at her. "No..."

"No. You haven't. This turned out to be too much for you, so this will be the ONLY time that you will accompany me on a mission. Okay?"

Steven bit his lip to keep it from trembling uncontrollably. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he suddenly broke out in shameful tears right in front of her. "Okay."

"Good. So when we get up there, I am going to get what we need and you will stand there and do nothing."

Steven murmured an "okay", despite the fact that she was already walking ahead. His feet dragged underneath him when he followed her. So much for proving himself today.

They finally made it to the pedestal that their item hovered over. It really did look like a wooden jigsaw block, and every now and then, the pieces would shift around, but never break off. Ruby slowly extended her hands out and cupped it in her hands. She pulled it back and held her breath, but nothing came.

"Whew!" Steven sighed in relief and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's go home!"

"No," murmured Ruby. Her eyes darted left and right. "Something is coming. It can't be this easy."

They waited. And waited. And waited...

"Hm..." Ruby shrugged and turned on her heel. "Guess I was wro - "

Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack

" - Of course."

One by one, the staircases all around them disappeared into the walls of the 'canyon.' Soon, the only one left was the one they stood on, leaving them stuck in the middle of the void. Steven craned his neck over the side of the staircase and saw that a platform was rising to them and engulfing all the stairs in its path. Steven was soon standing on the platform instead, with Ruby and the jigsaw-block she was holding tightly to her chest.

The click-clacking continued and grew louder and louder. Suddenly, three sharp black talons appeared at the edge of the platform, closely followed by another. A great salamander-like creature rose upwards from the depths of the canyon and was staring straight at them with beady white eyes. Its scales were seemingly black but glittered different colors under the light, and flames sparked behind its white teeth. A solid Gem was embedded on the back of its head.

"Steven. Summon your Bubble."

Steven almost didn't realize that Ruby had even spoken. His eyes were trained on the Salamander rearing backwards as he asked, "What?"

"BUBBLE! NOW!"

Ruby suddenly pushed him away from her and away from the jet of hot plasma erupting from the Salamander's mouth. Steven skidded on the platform and went over the edge, but luckily managed to grab a hold at the last second. He pulled himself up and looked at the scene before him. She didn't seem too concerned with the plasma being blasted at her, but was trying to keep the block in her hands. She was managing to dodge the attacks sent at her, until the Salamander's tail suddenly hit her from behind.

Ruby went tumbling forward, and the block went rolling out of her hands. Steven hurriedly pulled himself up and ran for it.

"I've got it!"

He went to grab the block, but pulled back instantly. It was scorching hot like a furnace, far too hot for him to touch with his bare hands. To make matters worse, the Salamander was coming straight for it.

Ruby darted forward and grabbed the block with one hand and Steven in the other. A white blaze followed them.

"I KNEW YOU WERE TOO SOFT FOR THIS!" Ruby growled as she set Steven on his feet long enough for her to take his hand instead. "WHY HAVEN'T YOU PULLED UP YOUR BUBBLE?!"

"I don't know how!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW?!"

"I...I...Wait! I think I have an idea!"

"GOOD! DO IT!"

"It wants the block-thingy!"

"WHAT?"

"The Salamander! It wants the thing that you've got! If you can distract it, I can jump on its back and attack!"

"STEVEN, THAT'S CRAZY!"

They narrowly avoided yet another blast of flames and a slash of talons on top of that.

"THEN WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"

Ruby paused. "...I HAVE NO IDEA! GO FOR IT! AND SUMMON YOUR BUBBLE!"

They separated at last, and Ruby took off running. The Salamander followed her and completely disregarded Steven, even as he ran straight for its tail.

It took a minute of stumbling and tripping, as Ruby was actively avoiding being attacked, but he finally managed to latch onto the Salamander's tail and begin to climb its back. He used the small forks on its spine to pull himself like a ladder. Every now and then, when the Salamander took a lurch, he'd sit still until it went steady again. All the while, he tried to concentrate and summon up his protective bubble, but it wasn't coming to him.

Steven finally made it to the Gem embedded in the back of the Salamander's head. He grabbed it and pulled hard, and it was like pulling on reins. The Salamander immediately reared back and started bucking in attempts to get Steven off of it. Steven kept a strong hold all the while.

Ruby took advantage of the Salamander's distraction to put the block aside and summon her gauntlets. She ran forward and drove one hand into the Salamander's exposed stomach, then did the other when it keeled over.

In a puff of sparkling smoke, the Salamander disappeared, and Steven fell to the ground heavily. Ruby helped him to his feet and immediately Bubbled the Gem that the Salamander left behind, sending it to the Temple. Not a moment later, the platform began to fall, taking Ruby and Steven with it. The temperature was climbing steadily and everything suddenly had a red tint to it.

Ruby wasted no time in grabbing Steven and the block and running straight for the exit when it approached. "BUBBLE?!"

"STILL DON'T KNOW!"

She suddenly flipped him around so that he was in front of her before her whole body went into light. When she stopped, she was twice as big as usual, and she threw themselves to the ground.

The cube burst in a blaze of smoke and fire behind them. Steven gasped at the intense heat surrounding him, held off only by Ruby's body covering his own. The heat bit at his eyes, so he squeezed them shut until it was over.

Ruby eventually rolled off of him. The cube was gone, not a single speck of it in sight. Ruby went into light again, and emerged as her old self. She groaned as smoke rose off of her body.

Steven ran forward and would have helped her up, had she not been fiery hot to the touch. Her eyes were shut. "Ruby! Are you okay? I-I'm sorry I couldn't summon the Bubble! I'm sorry!"

"What?" Ruby's eyes opened so she could look up at him. She gave him a gentle smile. "No, you did fine. I asked too much of you too quickly, it was my fault. Sorry for being so hard on you."

"Still..."

Ruby pulled herself up to her feet. She shook the ashes off of her like a wet dog and pushed her headband up afterwards. "Stop. You did great. Now..." She reached down to pick up the block. "Let's take care of this..." She reached behind her for something, then paused and snapped her fingers. "Man, I knew I was going to leave the water bottle behind!"

"Wait!" Steven reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water from one of the pockets. After the trip to the Aerial Tower, Opal had helped Steven put more useful things into his backpack (such as a medical kit and blankets) as well as what he wanted. "Here ya go!"

"Nice!" Ruby held the block out to him.

Steven unscrewed the cap to the bottle and let it pour over the block. What he thought was wood melted away like wax down Ruby's palms and to the ground. A round red Gem was left behind.

Ruby extended her hand to Bubble it, but paused at the last second. She smiled and held it out to Steven. "Think you can do it?"

Steven hummed and held it close to his Gem. With surprising ease, just a little bit of effort, a pink Bubble appeared around the Gem.

"Sweet! Now, come on." Ruby nudged him in the direction of the Warp Pad. "Let's head home."

* * *

When the two of them returned to the Temple, they found a mess awaiting them. The couch had been flipped over, as well as the table, and every drawer and door had been pulled open so that the items inside could be tossed about on the floor. Even the fridge was wide open and emptied out.

Sapphire was standing in the middle of the room with her hands clasped together. Opal, meanwhile, was in Steven's loft, lifting his bed upwards with all four of her arms. She let it back down and landed in front of Sapphire with one jump.

"What do we do?" She ran two of her hands through her hair. "We've been searching for hours! He's not here, he's not in town, he - he - "

Sapphire put a hand on Opal's shin. "He's here."

Opal only just now took notice of Ruby and Steven's presence. "Where were you?" she demanded. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

Steven pulled his backpack off of his shoulders as he asked, "Didn't you read our note?"

"She did." Sapphire held up a small paper with one gloved hand. "She gets more forgetful when she's panicked."

Opal sent an annoyed look down at Sapphire. "I do not!" She looked back at Steven and Ruby and jumped in surprise. "When did you two get here?"

"Anyway." Ruby gestured to the pink Bubble in Steven's hands. "Steven did great. Even Bubbled a Gem."

Steven held it out for Sapphire and Opal to admire. He then pressed his hand down on the Bubble, and smiled when it disappeared to Ruby's Room.

Ruby gave him a proud smile, but it turned into a curious frown when she inquired, "Now, what was that thing you had for afterwards?"

"Oh!" Steven reached into his backpack and pulled out the folded paper. He unfolded it and held it out to Ruby with a large grin. "Here!"

It was an image of Steven and Ruby atop a fallen monster with its eyes as X's and its tongue poking out. Steven and Ruby were high-fiving one another, and sparks and stars were emitting from their hands. In bubbly letters, it read at the top, "BATTLE BUDDIES!"

"Aw. Thanks, Steven."

Opal bent downwards to poke at Ruby's red cheek. Ruby glared at her, but Opal was just smirking as she teased, "Aw, are you tearing up?"

"What! No!"

Steven joined in and pointed at her eyes. "I'm seeing some moisture."

Opal patted Ruby's dark hair and cooed, "You lil' softie."

"I'M NOT SOFT!"

"Softie hug!" Steven chuckled when he and Opal both wrapped Ruby in a squeezing hug. The two of them chuckled as a sandwiched Ruby fumed between them.

"This is why I work alone."


	7. The Wallflower

"Reach! And reach! And reach!"

Steven and Opal mimicked the fitness instructor's movements on the screen. The video was probably about twenty years old, judging by the static and audio tears, but they couldn't care less. They continued moving to the scratchy pop music.

The leg-warmer-wearing fitness instructor began a new move. She extended her arms beside her and then brought them in so that her fists came to her chest. "Now stretch! And stretch! And stretch!"

Opal and Steven copied her with all six of their arms.

The fitness instructor put her hands on her leotard-covered hips and started kicking one leg out at a time. "Kick! And kick! And k - "

Her words were cut off when Opal's long leg accidentally knocked the television off of the table. It fell with a hard 'clunk' on the floor, and the screen shattered instantly. A few lone sparks popped out.

"Oh." Opal awkwardly rubbed at the back of her neck and sent a sheepish smile down at Steven. "Sorry."

"No biggie. I can just buy another one. Again. For the twenty-seventh time."

Steven reached for the paper on the table labeled "Steven and Opal's Amazing Activities of Awesomeness!™". Most of the activities had been crossed out with red pen, but a few more remained. Ruby was on yet another mission and Sapphire had decided that she needed some alone time for the evening, so Opal and Steven were passing time together.

"What do you want to do next on the list?"

Opal sat down on the floor and crossed her long legs. "Read them to me."

"Do you want to go fishing?"

"Hm...No, not really."

"Yeah, me neither. I don't know why we wrote that down...Want to make BLTs?"

"I don't think I'm in the mood for a Bacon-Lettuce-and-Tangerine sandwich right now."

"Knitting?"

Opal held up a large, fuzzy purple sweater with four sleeves and a knit image of a smiling cat on the front. "Already did it."

"Hm...Well, I guess that's it. Unless you want to go out and do something."

"Like what? Sunbathing? Swimming?"

"Or we could go out into town. Have you ever been to Funland?"

"I don't think so, unless I forgot."

"Then we should do that!"

Opal twiddled two of her thumbs together. "Um...are you sure about that? I don't want to disturb anyone..."

Steven gave an exaggerated scoff and waved a hand at her. "What, you? You're seven feet tall and you have four arms! People would be all over you!"

"I know. That's what I'm scared of." At Steven's confused stare, she explained, "I don't really have a good history of fitting in, Steven. People think I'm..." Opal paused, then wiggled her twenty fingers. "Weird."

"So? You're the good kind of weird!"

Opal nodded fervently. "I know! I don't get it!"

"Nothing's gonna happen!" Steven clasped his hands together and made sure to keep his eyes extra-puppy-like as he sang, "Please~?"

Opal sighed. A moment later, she sent him a smile. "Oh, alright. If only for you." She snapped her fingers at him and winked.

Steven gasped, then beamed in appreciation.

* * *

It took them about fifteen minutes to get to Beach City Funland, the miniature amusement park to the west of Beach City. Children were running around, screaming in joy and pulling their parents behind them. The songs and beeps of games filled the air, as did the scent of buttered popcorn and sugary cotton candy. Screams and squeals rose up from the rollercoaster. Steven made sure to keep a hold on Opal's hand the entirety of their time - it's happened more than once that she went somewhere with Steven and accidentally left him behind.

Steven pulled Opal to the first game they came to. It was a shoot-the-target sort of game. A 'gun' was tied by a loose string to the booth, and rows of bandit-shaped cutouts stood immobile at the back. Stuffed animals lined the top of the tent.

A rather sullen-looking woman with dark blue hair greeted them morosely. "Hey there, children."

"Hey there, adult!" Steven pulled on Opal's hand just enough so that she would bend down and listen to him. "All you have to do is hit the targets. You're great at that!"

Opal smirked with pride. "I am, aren't I?"

"One dollar for five shots," said the woman. Steven dug into his pocket for four quarters and handed them to her. The woman turned behind her and flipped the switch so that the bandit-shaped cutouts on the wall began to pop up and move. A country song started to spill out from a hidden speaker.

Opal picked up the small 'gun' loaded with foam bullets and aimed. Well...she tried to, anyway. Being as big as she was, the gun was rather tiny in her hands and it was difficult and awkward for her to bring it to her eye and stand on her knees at the same time. It also wasn't her bow, so she was having a hard time with the change of function. She ended up hitting nothing on the first try.

Opal hummed disappointedly and turned the gun over in her hands. Steven just reached into his pocket for another four quarters. "It was your first try! You can go again."

So she got five more foam bullets, but once again missed every shot. So she tried again, then again, then again. She hit a target once, but the foam bullet didn't stick, so it didn't count. Steven wasn't concerned about his money so much as Opal, who was clearly losing her patience.

After the sixth attempt, Opal grit her teeth and turned to the booth manager. "If we pay again, can I use my own ammo?"

The woman shrugged a shoulder. "Why not?"

Steven passed another four quarters to her. Opal summoned her bow into her hands and pulled back the string. A blue arrow appeared as she did so, and she aimed it at the targets.

Steven was entirely aware of the power packed into her arrows, and when he realized what she was going to do, he yelped, "OPAL, NO - !"

Then she fired.

BOOM

Debris, pieces of wood, and the metal bits went everywhere as the bandit-shaped targets and pretty much everything around it was blown to smithereens. Pieces of cotton from the now-destroyed stuffed animal prizes fell down like charred snow. Several people stopped and stared, save for a few parents who pulled their children along in fear. The woman behind the counter seemed surprisingly unfazed. She nonchalantly brushed some burning cotton from her shoulder.

Opal beamed down at Steven like a proud child. "Did I do good?"

"You did great!" Steven grabbed one of her hands and pulled her along. "Now let's go before security finds us."

Steven cast looks over his shoulder while he searched for a new game to play. He was looking for something more Opal-sized. Unfortunately, most games were made for people less than seven feet tall. Finally, he managed to find something more appropriate, and pulled Opal over.

This game was inside two plastic booths side-by-side. Basketball hoops hung at the far walls of each booth and a scoreboard hung between them. Two familiar teens were at either booth. They were shooting small basketballs to the hoop, and picking them up when they rolled back down. Each basket they made emitted a beep from the scoreboard.

"Sadie! Lars!"

Sadie turned over her shoulder to smile at him, but Lars kept shooting. "Hey, Steven!"

A moment later, an electronic song played from the scoreboard. '14' on Lars's side, '7' on Sadie's. Lars whooped victoriously and snapped his fingers at Sadie. "Ha! In your face!"

"Yeah, yeah, congrats." Sadie rolled her eyes, but smiled at Steven. "What brings you here?"

Steven gestured up at Opal, who waved down at Sadie. "Opal and I are hanging out today. Care for a game?" He asked this with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a hand on his hip.

Said held her hands up. "Nah, I'm good. You can play Lars if you want."

Steven stepped forward to take her place. He beamed up at Lars. "Lars, my man! You ready?"

Steven put in two quarters into the game, and while Lars put in two more, he smirked and muttered under his breath, "This is going to be too easy."

The counter at the scoreboard started at one minute, and Steven and Lars immediately started shooting. Steven was clearly struggling with his much shorter height and slower movements, but that didn't stop Opal and Sadie from cheering him on. Although Lars wasn't doing perfect, either, he was still clearly managing much better. He moved quickly and much more fluently.

The game ended a minute later. Blocky red numbers read '16' for Lars and '3' for Steven.

Lars cackled despite Steven looking fairly unfazed at his loss. "Nice try, shortstack." He all-too-roughly ruffled Steven's hair. "Better luck next time. Or the next. Or the next."

"Lars!" scolded Sadie.

Opal pursed her lips and turned to Steven. "Do you want to move on?"

A light bulb went off over Steven's head, so instead of answering, he turned to Lars. "Want to play Opal? She's never done this before. She needs a practice buddy."

Lars made a sort of 'tch' sound and smirked. "Fine. Hope she's ready to get creamed."

Steven nudged Opal to take his place. "So what you're going to do is you're going to shoot the balls into the basket as many times as you can, okay?"

Opal looked from the small basketballs to the hoop on the far wall and nodded. "I think I've got it."

Steven nodded, and he and Lars put in another two quarters each. The timer started, and as Lars reached for the basketballs, Steven cheered, "Go, Opal, go!"

Opal grabbed one basketball with each of her hands. The first one she threw experimentally, and it landed in the hoop with a victorious beep.

Steven excitedly patted her leg. "Keep going!"

So she did, throwing them one after the other, systematically using two arms to throw while the other two reached for the basketballs that rolled down. Beeps and bounces sounded off from either booth. Lars was casting narrowed glances at her as he hurriedly tried to catch up to her, to no avail. Sadie and Steven cheered them on all the while.

Finally, the screech of the timer came, and everyone looked to the scoreboard.

'17' on Lars's side, '117' on Opal's.

Steven cheered and wrapped his arms around Opal's leg. "You did it!"

Opal, meanwhile, had risen an eyebrow at the basketballs collected at the bottom of the booth. "Was that it?"

Steven nodded and turned to Lars with his beaming grin still present. "Good game, Lars! Want to go again?"

However, Lars had shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and was already turning away. Angrily, he murmured, "No way. Somehow, you guys managed to not make it fun anymore." He stormed off with huffing breaths.

"Lars!" Sadie sighed and gave Steven an apologetic smirk. "Sorry, Steven." She ran after the taller teenager, calling, "Lars, don't be such a baby!"

Steven worriedly looked up at Opal. She was staring after the two teenagers with furrowed brows and a pouting frown. She looked both confused and worried, and maybe a little hurt.

Steven took her hand once again. "Lars is just competitive! Don't worry about it. Let's move on."

As they walked, Steven searched around for a game that Opal could play without upsetting anyone or damaging property. Ring toss was too risky, she was probably too big for bumper cars, and he still wasn't tall enough to ride the Ferris wheel...Aha!

"Here!" Steven pulled her over to the tall, red metal structure with a brass bell on top. 'STRENGTH-O-METER' blinked on a sign beside it. He grabbed the heavy mallet and turned to Opal as he explained, "Just hit the pad to see how strong you are!"

Steven pulled the mallet over his head and brought it swinging down to the pad at the foot of the structure. The metal piece in the middle climbed upwards and stopped about a quarter of the way up. The section where it landed lit up in bright lights as a mechanical voice taunted, "Mama's Boy!"

"See?"

Opal furrowed her brows as she took the mallet from him. It was practically feather weight in her hands. "What's the point?"

"To see how strong you are! This one will be a breeze for you!" Steven looked past Opal to the man approaching them. "Mr. Smiley!"

Mr. Smiley, owner of both Funland and the Beach City Arcade, laughed as he approached them. The ever-present smile on his face never faded as he asked, "Steven! Tall Lady! How's your day going?"

"Going great! Opal was about to try the Strength-O-Meter!"

Mr. Smiley grinned up at Opal and gave her an encouraging swing of his arm. "Go on, give 'er a swing!"

Opal shrugged begrudgingly and knelt down in front of the pad. She lightly swung the mallet down.

The metal piece on the Strength-O-Meter shot upwards. Literally. It shot straight through the brass bell and kept going like a bullet...straight through one of the jumbo-sized elephant balloons hanging above. It gave a loud pop, causing everyone around to flinch, and the rubbery skin left behind landed directly on top of one of the vendors of the mobile popcorn stands.

He cried out and lurched, causing the cart to crash, the glass to break, and popcorn to spill everywhere. This immediately caught the attention of the perching seagulls that had been waiting for any scrap of food, and they descended immediately. Cries and screams broke out as people tried to avoid the screeching seagulls. Some people dropped their food in their attempt to run, causing even more seagulls to appear.

One poor soul was trying to defend his food as several seagulls tried to claw at it, and in his panicked craze, he ran straight into the side of one of the booths. It caved in, straight to the other wall of the booth, and then that wall hit another wall, until a series of booths went down like dominos.

One of the booths at the end hit the grill of a hot dog vendor. The coals spilled onto the wood and tarps of the booths, and caught fire instantly. In mere minutes, they could hear the honks and blares of a fire truck, and firemen swarmed the scene to douse the flames.

All the while, Opal, Steven, and Mr. Smiley stared, struck still with shock. Mr. Smiley's smile never waned, though, even as he leaned in close to Steven and hissed through his teeth, "You and your tall lady friend are banned from Funland."

Steven reached out to tug on Opal's hand. "Let's go."

Opal didn't waste time in picking Steven up and bolting out of Funland.

* * *

"Okay, so...That was a disaster. But accidental disasters happen sometimes, so no harm done!"

Steven held the door open for Opal, who had to squat a considerable bit to squeeze through. The Fish Pizza pizzeria was as busy as ever, a few tables occupied with hungry customers. The place reeked of fish and parmesan cheese, and even if it wasn't a good smell, one got used to it quickly.

Steven pulled Opal to one of the booths, but paused when he saw that she couldn't fit. So he pulled the table out and replaced it with one of the small tables for singles so that she had more leg room. It was still an awkward squeeze. She ended up with her long legs stretched outside of the booth.

"You like Fish Pizza, right?"

"Sometimes."

"Well, you'll like it today! Here, we can split one."

Jenny, Kofi Pizza's daughter and technically the official heiress to the Pizzeria, approached them with a pen and notepad in hand. She smiled at Steven and gave him a high five when he immediately held his hand up. "Hey, Steven. You taking your auntie out for dinner?"

"She's not related to me by any blood relation, but yes. Yes, we are."

"Okay." Jenny clicked her pen. "What would you like?"

"We're gonna split a medium pizza. I'll just get pepperoni on my side. Opal, what do you want for your half?"

"Hm...I'll get cinnamon, I suppose."

Jenny's nose crinkled. "You want to eat cinnamon on pizza?"

Steven's head tipped to the side curiously. "You asked us what we'd like."

Jenny paused, then shrugged. "That I did. Anyway, I'll be back in a bit."

She sauntered off, leaving Opal and Steven alone. Steven drummed his fingers on the tabletop, and, when Opal squirmed in her seat, he said, "Sorry about what happened at Funland."

She looked confused for a moment, likely having forgotten about it at the time, but eventually made an "oh" sound and looked away from him. "That wasn't your fault. I'm sorry for getting you banned."

Steven scoffed and waved a hand at her. "I have better things to than play games. I have a planet to protect."

Opal smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"...What you did was an accident. And don't let Lars get to you - he's always a grump."

"I just..." Opal chewed on her lip. "I just don't want to bother anyone."

"You're not!" When Opal still seemed unconvinced, Steven said, "Hey, why don't you meet the Pizzas? They'll love you!"

Opal managed to squeeze out of the booth and crouch her way to the counter. Behind it, a girl with thick hair and a red sundress was wiping down equipment while a small woman with round glasses was packing away frozen fish. "That's Kiki, Jenny's twin sister, and that's Nanafua. Hey, Nanafua!"

"Hello, Steven!" She held up a frozen trout in her hands. "Would you like a fish? We won't cook it unless you say so!"

"We're good!"

"You sure? You look like you need a fish. I'll pack it for you anyway."

Steven grinned up at Opal. "Nanafua is a darling like that."

She came back a moment later with the fish, wrapped in brown paper. "Here you go."

Behind them, a light in the ceiling flickered. Nanafua tsked and shook her head. "Kofi refuses to switch out that light bulb. Says he's too busy. What am I supposed to do about it?" She waved her small arms and exclaimed, "I am a wee tiny old woman. I have more interesting things to do."

Steven looked up at Opal. "Do you mind changing it out?"

Opal nodded and grinned, so Nanafua reached behind the counter for a new light bulb. Opal took it with one hand and used another to unscrew the flickering bulb in the ceiling and screw the new one on. Nanafua clapped appreciatively.

Jenny appeared at the service door then, with their pizza hot and ready in her hands. Half of it was spotted in pepperoni, while the other half was brown with cinnamon. "I got your food! You got lucky - we were almost out of cinnamon."

Opal meant to step backwards to give Jenny space to walk, but she instead ended up stumbling backwards into the table and chairs behind her. The table snapped underneath her weight, and a few chairs lost their legs. The customers in the restaurant hissed and winced. Opal groaned on the floor, and as Steven ran to her side, Kiki ran to the counter and Nanafua called, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Opal sighed. Steven helped her to her feet as best as he could. "Let me just - "

Her foot stepped on one of the discarded chair legs, and when it slid underneath her, she went sailing forward. Another table and a few more chairs broke. This table was occupied, and she just narrowly missed the two customers, her face landing directly in their food. To make matters worse, one of her legs kicked up behind her and knocked the pizza right out of Jenny's hands.

It fell directly in front of the service door just as Kofi Pizza walked into the room. He blanched at the mess, but his confusion quickly turned to anger. "What happened here?"

"I-I'm sorry," murmured Opal. She pulled herself up to her knees and grimaced at herself. Her front was smeared with marinara sauce and cheese, and parts of her hair were drenched in sticky soda.

"You've destroyed my furniture!" Kofi angrily gestured around to the mess of wooden pieces of furniture. "Look at the mess you've made!"

From the counter, Kiki called, "It was an accident, Daddy!"

"Yeah, lay off, Daddy," scoffed Jenny. She crossed her arms over her chest. "She didn't mean to."

The twins' protests were met with a few agreeing murmurs from the customers coming to Opal's defense. Kofi thankfully seemed to calm down after that, actually seeming a bit worried for Opal as he raised a thick brow at her. "Well, are you alright?"

Opal had gone suddenly still as she looked down at her greasy, sticky hands. Steven carefully stepped to her side and placed a hand on her leg. "Opal, are you - ?"

Opal suddenly leaped for the door and tore it off in one near-effortless pull. She tossed the discarded hunk of wood and quickly disappeared outside. Her footsteps faded away down the boardwalk.

"Opal!" Steven ran to the door. She had already disappeared from sight.

"You go ahead, Steven!" Nanafua held up the brown paper in her hands. "I'll hold onto the fish for you!"

"Thank you, Nanafua!"

And with that, Steven went running after his four-armed friend.

* * *

"Opal!"

Steven opened the door to his Room and looked around worriedly. There was no one in sight, let alone Opal. He continued to call regardless, "Opal! Where are you?"

He huffed when he received no response. He ran to the Temple Door and knocked on it quickly. "Opal! Are you there?"

A red crack suddenly appeared down the Door, and when it split in two, Ruby was standing there, looking at him quizzically. "What's going on?" Behind her, Sapphire appeared from the portal in the ceiling and hovered down to them.

"I can't find Opal anywhere!"

"I didn't see her come in," said Ruby. "What's wrong?"

Steven sighed and explained, "I just wanted to hang out, but Opal accidentally broke a few things at Funland and Lars was being rude to her and then we went to the Fish Pizzeria but then she broke even more things and then she ran out."

Ruby winced and passed a glance at Sapphire. The blue Gem was frowning, as always, but there was a bit more sympathy in it this time. "Hoo boy..."

"Is she okay? Why is she so upset?"

Sapphire's voice was gentle as she explained, "Opal is a very shy person."

"Yeah," agreed Ruby. "She doesn't like being put on the spot, especially when someone's upset at her. Did anyone say anything to her?"

"Well, Lars was really huffy when she beat him at a basketball game. And Kofi was angry that she broke the furniture at the Pizzeria."

Ruby gave a sad sigh. "Yeah, she's probably taking it harder than she should. Opal's sensitive like that - small things really get to her. She usually just keeps herself away when she's upset."

"But can you tell me where she is? She shouldn't be alone if she's upset."

Ruby opened her mouth to explain that it was probably for the best, but Sapphire surprisingly cut her off when she said, "She's at the cherry tree in the fields."

"Thanks." Steven ran to the door and paused just long enough to call "We'll be back later!" before running down the stairs to find Opal.

Sapphire turned away to return to her room. Ruby put a hand on her hip and raised a brow at her. "Why'd you tell him?"

Sapphire gave no response other than, "Steven knows what he's doing."

* * *

Steven knew where the cherry tree was. It was Opal's "relaxing place," so to speak. She usually went there to sit and enjoy the silence, and maybe take a nap. Steven usually steered clear of the place - he understood and respected that Opal wanted to be alone there, so he only came when he needed to get her for something.

By the time he saw the cherry tree atop one of the hills, the sun was dipping low in the sky. Rich gold was spread across the sky, and the petals almost looked as if they were on fire. Opal was sitting in the thick roots, her arms wrapped around her body, staring at the distant sunset. She'd cleaned the grime off of her front and hair.

Steven didn't want to startle her, so he slowly approached until he was sure that she'd seen him. He sat down beside her and joined her in watching the sun sink into the horizon. The golden light made the water shimmer vividly.

"The view is nice here."

"Mm-hm."

He waited a moment to ask, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

Steven could tell that although she was clearly upset, she certainly wasn't in the mood for being bombarded with questions. So, instead, he said, "I'm sorry today didn't go like it was supposed to. I wanted you to be happy, not upset."

Opal's stark blue gaze turned from the water to him. One of her hands reached out to place a comforting hand on his hair. "It's not your fault. I'm just...tired, is all. I don't like it when people are upset with me, Steven." She paused for a moment to look down at her hands. "I don't like it when I feel like I'm...unwanted. I overreacted."

"If you were upset, you were upset. You didn't overreact." He paused. "But you're not unwanted! Do you know what Beach City would be like if you weren't here to protect it? Everyone wants you here! I don't know what else to tell you other than 'don't worry about it.' So...just don't okay?"

Opal hummed.

They continued like that, watching the sun until it completely disappeared and the gold slowly turned into violet and blue. The breeze ruffled their hair.

Eventually, Steven pulled back and said, "You know, if you want, there's something else we can do. I'm sure you'd like it, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

Opal paused. A moment later, she sent him a small smile. "Let's go."

* * *

"What is this?"

Steven shrugged. "I don't know, but I thought you'd like it."

At the end of the dock was a small band playing soft, lilting music. One man strummed his guitar while another tinkered with a set of bells and a woman played light notes on a harp. A few people were dancing to the music, most of them couples, some of them parents with children.

There was nothing major about it, nothing particularly eye-catching or crowd-worthy. The people weren't dancing the same - some of them were waltzing, others were doing a fast spinning dance, others were just swaying. Most surprisingly was that no one cared.

"You want to dance?" asked Steven.

"...Sure."

They walked hand-in-hand to the middle of the makeshift 'dance floor'. Opal lifted up Steven with her two lower arms, then placed one on his shoulder and held his hand in the other. Opal swayed them to the music. She was fluid, graceful, completely in her element. Some other dancers glanced their way with smiles, a few stopped to watch. The small band paused to change their notes to a smooth, gliding melody.

"You happy now?"

Opal had closed her eyes in contentment, but opened them to smile down at him. "Yes. I'm happy now."

"Good."

The melody continued on to its last notes. Opal and Steven bowed to each other, and Opal set Steven back on his feet.

Not a moment later, the band was suddenly playing an upbeat, jazzy song - the bell player had switched to a small set of drums, the harp-player to a saxophone. There was a rise of whoops and cheers as the couples around span and tapped to the music. Some passerby on the other end of the dock caught notice and approached.

Opal seemed confused at first, but eventually held out a hand to Steven.

Steven took it all too enthusiastically, with a cry of, "Let's show them how it's done!"

* * *

 **Quick question - Would anyone be interested in me having an ask blog for this fic?**


	8. The Stoic

"Are we there yet?"

"We will get there when we get there!"

Steven huffed. The sun was beating down on them, and the sand was digging between his toes and under his soles. The Crystal Gems' mission that day was to retrieve a Gem from a Temple in the desert. However, since the nearest Warp Pad to the Temple was broken, it was a two-hour walk from the second-nearest one. There were hills of thick sand for miles, and Steven was drenched in sweat. Still, he refused to let Opal carry him. It was time to start acting like a REAL Gem.

Sapphire - who had walked alongside Steven to give him some sort of coolness for the blazing walk - held out a gloved hand to him. "Give me your arm."

Steven complied and let her take his hand in hers. She held it still while the other hand went up his forearm and elbow. Her touch was refreshingly cool, and Steven sighed. "Thaaaank yoooou."

"Mm-hm." Sapphire stepped around him to his other side and went to cooling down his other arm.

"Are you really not bothered by this heat?"

"Mm-mm."

"Do you feel heat at all?"

"Mm-hm."

"...Are you going to say anything other than humming?"

"Do I need to?"

"...I guess not."

Sapphire reached out to his neck to rub at the red skin there. Steven leaned into her touch with a shiver. "So is that why you don't talk? Because you don't need to?"

Sapphire shrugged.

"Or is it because you don't want to?"

"I'm not a conversationalist." Sapphire paused. "But just because I don't speak doesn't mean I don't listen."

"That sounds fair. Oh!" Steven reached behind him into his cheeseburger-backpack and pulled out a small paperback book. "I've got a book with one thousand jokes! Care to listen?"

Sapphire hummed.

"Okay, okay. What did one melon say to the other when he asked her to run away with him?" He paused. "She said, 'I'm sorry. I cantaloupe!'"

She hummed again.

"What did the cell say to his sister when she stepped on his foot...? 'Mitosis!'"

Sapphire didn't hum. Instead, she turned her head to him and tipped it curiously. She didn't get it.

Steven frowned and thumbed over a few pages. His smile reappeared as he goaded, "Why was the astronaut surprised when he woke up on the moon?"

Sapphire paused. Then, she guessed, "The view was 'out of this world'?"

"Nope. He didn't planet."

For just a moment, a little smile appeared on Sapphire's lips.

"You liked it!"

"I've never heard that one.'

"Okay, you'll like this one. What did the tomato say to the squash in the race?"

"Run."

"Almost! He said, 'You really need to ketchup!'"

"Run."

Steven yelped when Sapphire suddenly gave his arm a hard pull. From behind him, plumes of sand shot into the air as something rose from the ground.

It was a giant Scorpion, or something of the like. Fifteen feet high, with scaly green skin and a horrifically sharp black stinger. The 'head' of the Scorpion had one slit red eye and two sharp snapping pincers. It garbled at the Gems warningly.

Sapphire pushed Steven behind her. Ruby and Opal were already taking action. "Stay safe."

The Scorpion proved to be incredibly agile in the thick sand, and incredibly durable. Opal was managing to land a few arrows on the Scorpion, but not enough to poof it. Sapphire was fast enough to land a few cuts with her knuckledusters, and Ruby was giving good blows when she could manage to get close. Grunts and hisses filled the air, all while Steven watched from a safe distance and dodged when need be. He eventually stumbled down into the sand.

Steven felt cold hands pull him to his feet, then Sapphire pulling him out of the way just as the black stinger came down beside him. "Thanks."

Sapphire just gave an acknowledging hum and kept pulling him from harm's way.

Ruby took the advantage to land a blow on its side. It was all too soon when the stinger came at her, not stinging her, but instead sending her flying straight into Opal. Opal, who had been atop a hill of sand, lost her balance, and the two went tumbling out of sight.

The stinger reared back into Sapphire and Steven. Steven felt the wind push out of him as the two of them landed harshly, right in front of the Scorpion.

He heard a snap, and opened his sand-crusted eyes to see what was happening. He gasped and yelped, "Sapphire!"

The Scorpion had one of its pincers on Sapphire's right arm and was holding her up in the air. Sapphire was kicking and pulling, but the grip was too strong for her to do anything but dangle helplessly. The Scorpion raised its stinger to strike.

Steven jumped to his feet and looked around for something that would work. Right in front of the Scorpion, he had a pretty good aim at its one eye. He reached down and grabbed a fistful of sand and threw it. The Scorpion didn't so much as blink.

'Well', thought Steven, 'on to Plan B.'

He jumped up and punched the Scorpion directly in its eye.

The stinger had just come down and made contact with Sapphire's hand when the Scorpion reared back with a warbled cry. Sapphire fell to the sand below, and when she didn't immediately recover, Steven wrapped an arm around her small waist and pulled her back.

The Scorpion's eye was noticeably red with irritation as it glared down at them. It stepped forward to strike, but didn't get the chance to. Ruby flew in like a torpedo (no doubt having been thrown by Opal) and crashed full-force into the Scorpion's side. The Scorpion tumbled onto its back. Its legs kicked in the air, and its soft white underbelly glistened wetly in the sun.

Opal and Steven, meanwhile, were tending to Sapphire, who hadn't said a word and was hanging limply in Opal's arms. Opal was inspecting Sapphire's Gem, where Steven had said the stinger had struck, but couldn't find so much as a scratch. Opal took Sapphire into her arms and called, "Let's go! Sapphire can't go on!"

Ruby was standing only a few feet away from the Scorpion with her gauntlets at the ready. She turned to Opal with a look of disbelief. "Are you kidding? I can handle this!"

The Scorpion's stinger walloped down onto the sand with an audible 'THUMP!' All around, the sand began to ripple, little spouts of it popping up. One miniature Scorpion, with a noticeably dull stinger and soft-looking pincers, appeared at the ready. Then came another, then another, until there was practically a sea of them.

Ruby slowly turned on her heel. "Neeeeevermind."

Opal picked up Steven, and she and Ruby took off running. The Mini-Scorpions scuttled after them, but they were out of sight quickly.

It took a half-hour to get back to the Warp Pad and return to Steven's Room. Steven would have welcomed the air-conditioned coolness of his Room, had he not been too worried about Sapphire.

Opal gently placed Sapphire on Steven's couch. Ruby took Sapphire's hand and held her Gem up to see. Not a scratch or smudge to be seen.

Ruby hummed and put Sapphire's hand back down so it rested in her lap. "Weird." She stood up and tapped Opal on the calf as she passed by. "C'mon. Nothing else to do but let her wake up."

"Where are you going?" inquired Opal.

Ruby sighed as she stopped on the Warp Pad. "To go take care of the Scorpions? The ones we just saw?"

"Oh. Right." Opal stood to her feet and joined Ruby on the Warp Pad. "I'm coming with you. No buts."

Ruby rolled her eyes, but groaned, "Fine."

"Steven, you take care of Sapphire. Keep her safe and make sure she doesn't come after us when she wakes up, okay? She needs to relax a bit."

Steven saluted, and Ruby and Opal mimicked the move before they disappeared in the curtains of light from the Warp Pad.

Steven looked back down at Sapphire. She was as still as a statue. He scratched the back of his neck. "Whelp. Why don't I make you comfortable? You don't have to answer that, because you can't." He pointed at her and winked before walking away.

He first laid a soft linen blanket over her, and then brewed a pot of her favorite tea on the stovetop. He would have put earphones on her head for her to listen to some classical music...then realized that she didn't have ears, so scrapped that idea.

He poured a cup of steaming tea and walked back to the couch where she laid. He held up the cup as if she could see it. "I'll just put it on the table until you wake up, okay?"

Suddenly, without warning, Sapphire shot straight up like a needle. She went directly into the cup in Steven's hand, and hot tea poured all over her and the blanket. The cup shattered on the floor.

Steven, who had luckily not suffered so much from the scalding tea, gasped, "Are you okay! I'm so sorry! Here, let me - "

Sapphire pushed the blanket off of her and pushed herself off of the couch so that she landed on the floor. She walked away as if it was nothing, and Steven ran after her when he realized where she was headed.

He stood in front of her and held up his hands. "No, no, no! Opal and Ruby are fine. They said they could handle it."

"I need to go," droned Sapphire.

"Nope." Steven took Sapphire's hand and led her away from the Warp Pad. She surprisingly wasn't putting up a fight. "You're going to just sit here and relax. And I have the perfect ideas for relaxing time!"

* * *

"Be still."

Sapphire didn't move an inch as Steven slathered the white sun block over her cool blue skin. They were standing outside Steven's Room, on the front patio. Steven had set up two lounging chairs and some sun reflectors for the two of them.

Steven - already in his swimming trunks and coated in a layer of sunscreen - snapped the bottle shut and tipped his head at Sapphire. "Are you sure you don't want to change into something...not-a-dress-y?"

Sapphire said nothing.

Steven shrugged and pulled her to the lounge chair. He helped her climb on and lay down and walked to his own. "So all we have to do is sit here and let the sun bake us like pastries!" He put his sunglasses on and laid down. "So relaxing."

He closed his eyes and took in the warm sunlight. He could hear the waves lapping on the beach below, and the distant cries of seagulls. The salty wind lapped at his face, and he took a deep breath. "You feeling relaxed yet, Sapphire?"

No response.

"Sapphire?"

Steven lifted his sunglasses from his eyes curiously. The lounge chair next to him was now empty. He put his sun reflector down and walked back into his Room to see Sapphire wordlessly headed for the Warp Pad.

He ran forward again and took her by the hand. She didn't resist as he pulled her away. "They're fine, Sapphire. They're probably already finished by now, anyway. You can use your future vision to see, right?"

Sapphire said nothing.

"...Okay, well, I have another thing you'll enjoy!"

* * *

Steven handed the sparkly pink microphone to Sapphire and plugged its cord into the console. The game's title, "Kissy Kissy Karaoke" appeared in bubbly pastel letters in front of a starry-eyed kitten on the small television screen.

Steven plugged his microphone in and grinned at Sapphire. "We'll do your favorite!"

He pressed the buttons on the microphone past the title screen to the song-select menu. He scrolled down the list and selected one titled "Big Blue Bubbles". Sapphire always sang the solo portion, while Steven did the back-up portion of repeating her words in the chorus.

The music started up, and the lyrics appeared on the screen.

However, as the music note started bouncing along the lyrics, Sapphire remained silent. She just held the microphone to her mouth without opening her lips once. The word 'BAD' flashed on the bottom of the screen with each missed verse, and Steven frowned. Sapphire ALWAYS sang whatever song they chose, and it always said 'PERFECT' on each key.

When the chorus came, Steven waited for Sapphire's line to pass before repeating, "And I'll go with you."

Sapphire didn't sing her part still.

"Across the great-big-blue," Steven sang awkwardly. 'OK' appeared on the screen. "Nothing else to...do..."

The song ended. 'THAT WAS TERRIBLE' in sparkling letters before the screen turned to the rankings. Every high score belonged to 'S&S', 'Saph & Steve', 'Cool Blue&Cool Guy', etc. Steven turned to Sapphire with furrowed brows. "What's wrong? You always sing that song!"

Sapphire let the microphone in her hand dropped to the floor. She walked off of the edge of Steven's loft and gently hovered down to the living room floor. Steven groaned to himself and hurried down the stairs after her.

He just managed to grab her arm as she stepped onto the Warp Pad. "Sapphire, come on."

Sapphire let Steven lead her away once again. This time, she slid against the floor as he pulled her.

* * *

The day continued on in a similar pattern after that. Everything that Steven did, Sapphire ignored and tried to walk to the Warp Pad. He gave her a book to read, but she just tossed it over her shoulder. Then he made coffee for her, but she just let the cup shatter on the floor. Then he set up easels for finger-painting, and honestly shouldn't have been surprised when the paints dropped from her hands. He had to leash her with a bed sheet to keep her from walking away as he cleaned up the mess. He continued to keep her tied to his seat as he ate his dinner. As he chewed, he watched as her legs continued to move, despite the fact that she was going nowhere.

"Okay!" Steven took a deep breath and plopped down on the couch beside Sapphire. "So far today, you've kind of been ignoring everything. But I have a secret weapon...!"

He took out the remote to the television and pointed it at her. "CAPTIVATING TELEVISION PROGRAMS! Namely..." He hit the power button. "CRYING BREAKFAST FRIENDS!"

The opening theme song to the bizarre cartoon played as Steven grinned cockily. "You ALWAYS watch the new episodes of Crying Breakfast Friends. There's no way you'll be able to resist the captivating story of the tragedy of the most important meal of the day!" He threw his head back and guffawed, "Muahahahaha!"

He turned to grin at her, only to see that her seat was empty. She was already briskly walking to the Warp Pad.

"Sapphire!" Steven kicked off the blanket on his knees and ran to her, sighing. "For the last time, no! You're going to stay here and relax or so help me I am going to hug you so hard that you - !"

His words cut off in a yelp as he was suddenly pushed down to the floor. His elbow banged against the wood, triggering his funny bone. He groaned when his head smacked down hard.

Sapphire put her extended arms to her side. "Let. Me. Go." Then she turned for the Warp Pad.

Steven was so confused that he just barely managed to stutter out her name. "S-Sapphire...?"

The Warp Pad lit with life, but it was before Sapphire stepped down on it. Steven stood to his feet with a groan. Ruby and Opal would know what to do about this, wouldn't they? But how would Ruby react when she found out that Sapphire had pushed him down? She'd -

His own thoughts never finished. He yelped when the curtains of light from the Warp Pad suddenly fell away. Hundreds upon hundreds of the Mini-Scorpions from the desert spilled out from the Warp Pad and scuttled onto the floor. Sapphire made no move to budge.

Steven quickly grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her away from the Mini Scorpions when they crawled too close for his comfort. The Warp Pad lit up once more, and this time, it was the REAL Scorpion who appeared. It was standing on its stinger to fit onto the Warp Pad, but came crashing onto the floor with a snarl just a moment later.

Steven continued pulling Sapphire back, especially when the Scorpion's single eye turned on them. The Warp Pad lit up for the third time, and Opal and Ruby appeared with wild hair, wide eyes, and brandished Weapons.

They both screamed at once. "STEVEN, RUN!"

Steven still had a hold of Sapphire's hand as he threw open the door to his Room and raced down the stairs. There was a shatter of glass, and Ruby's small red body sailed from the window of his Room to the sand far below. Opal soon followed, albeit she clearly jumped on her own will. Steven felt the rumble of the Scorpion's steps just as he and Sapphire hit the sand.

Opal and Ruby continued their battle against the giant Scorpion, all the meanwhile dodging the Mini-Scorpions that lunged at them. When a wave of Mini-Scorpions headed straight for Sapphire and Steven, Steven anxiously tugged on Sapphire's arm.

"Sapphire, you have to help them! Do something!"

Sapphire was still for several moments. Then, her arms rose up, her knuckledusters on either hand.

"Finally! Now go - !"

WHAP!

Steven went sailing into the sand when Sapphire's arm backhanded him out of nowhere. He landed with a winded grunt and pulled himself to his feet shakily. "Sapphire?"

Sapphire said nothing as she charged straight for him. Steven ducked and rolled out of the way, just narrowly missing a slash of her right knuckleduster. Then he had to dodge again, then again, when she continued to slash at him.

"Sapphire! What are you doing?!"

Steven yelped when Sapphire scraped his arm. Four red lines appeared just under his shoulder. Tears pricked his eyes, not so much out of pain (though it was certainly there) than confusion. Why was Sapphire hurting him? Why was she acting like this?

Opal turned her head as she dodged another swing of the Scorpion's stinger. She saw Steven talking to Sapphire, who was standing still before him. To Opal, it looked like Steven was just pleading to stay and help out, so she called, "Steven, GO!"

Steven, meanwhile, thought she was referring to Sapphire.

And 'go', he did.

He took off running in the sand, straight for Beach City. Sapphire was in hot pursuit, but as Steven's arm pumped and his heart raced, he knew that something was wrong. Other than the fact that he knew Sapphire would never hurt him, there was something uncannily jerky in her movements, and he knew that she should have caught him already.

Adding to their struggle was the fact that the Scorpion and the Mini-Scorpions seemed to follow them. Ruby and Opal tried their best to keep up with it, but even Opal wasn't fast enough to run alongside it. She eventually just grabbed Ruby and threw her at the Scorpion's back, where Ruby latched on and went to attacking the stinger as much as she could.

All the while, Steven struggled to avoid the suddenly-bloodthirsty Sapphire. He ducked and dodged and rolled, but she kept coming at him.

"Sapphire, stop! PLEASE! YOU'RE SCARING ME!"

His words had no effect. Sapphire took a sudden lunge at him, and they rolled to the ground. Sapphire would have had him pinned if he wasn't forcing her away at arm's length. He had one hand at her shoulder and the other against her head.

"GET OFF OF ME!"

The hand on her head slipped, pushing up her bangs, and Steven gasped.

In the middle of Sapphire's face was a single large eye. There was no iris or pupil, instead just flashes of green and black.

"S-Sapphire?"

Behind them, there was a grunt, and Steven craned his neck away from Sapphire to watch as Ruby and Opal were knocked off their feet with a swing of the stinger. The Mini-Scorpions descended on them, and shouts and yelps rose up from their forms. The Scorpion turned to them, and its single eye flashed green.

Above him, Sapphire went still for just a moment, her eye flashing before she was suddenly back to attacking him with full force. Steven looked at the Gem in her palm. Right at the middle, it was shining a dull shade of green, almost unnoticeable in the blue.

Opal and Ruby were back on their feet and tossing the Mini-Scorpions everywhere. Steven rolled him and Sapphire over so that he was pinning her to the ground instead. He didn't waste time in calling out, "IT'S CONTROLLING SAPPHIRE!"

Ruby ducked and rolled from a snapping pincer. "WHAT?!"

"IT'S CONTROLLING HER! YOU HAVE TO POOF IT!"

"YEAH, WE KNOW! WE'RE TRYING!"

Opal grunted as she sidestepped another wave of Mini-Scorpions crawling for her. "NOTHING IS WORKING!"

Steven thought back to their fight in the hot desert. It had stung Sapphire's Gem, then Steven had punched its eye, then...He gasped when he realized what they had to do. He called, "IT'S BELLY! YOU HAVE TO TURN IT OVER AND HIT ITS BELLY!"

Ruby and Opal seemed to realize now what he was saying, and moved to enact their plan. At the same time, Sapphire lifted up a leg and kicked Steven's midsection to send him flying off of her. Steven went back to his original plan of just running away.

But it seemed that Sapphire had had enough of that. She stopped and went still as ice began to spread around her like frost. In mere seconds, she and Steven were on an uneven field of ice covering the sand. Steven tripped and slid several feet on his rear.

The Scorpion didn't seem to entirely think out its control over Sapphire, though, since it, too, hit the ice and went sliding. With its jagged legs, it couldn't stop, and the Mini-Scorpions followed lead. Opal and Ruby kept on the sand, however, and Ruby took a hold on Opal's bow. Opal pulled the string and Ruby's foot back and aimed her at the sliding Scorpion.

She let go, and Ruby went flying with a war cry. She and her gauntlets hit the Scorpion square in the side, sending it sprawling on the ice. Its legs kicked uselessly, and the Mini-Scorpions slid around confusedly.

Steven pushed himself out of Sapphire's path when she brought a knuckleduster slashing down at him. She hit the ice instead, cracking it and sending cold shards of it flying. She used her other hand to swing at him, but he side-stepped it and attempted to slide away. Emphasis on 'tried'.

With a stomp of Sapphire's foot, a frosty jet shot across the ice to Steven. Steven held when his foot stopped still and he went falling forward. His foot was encased in a block of ice frozen to the ground. Sapphire stood straight and flew over to him. Steven feebly clawed at the ice to escape, but it was no use. Sapphire raised her hands for the killing blow.

Opal, meanwhile, had taken a leap into the air and brought her leg swinging down onto the Scorpion. With a burst of green smoke, it finally disappeared and left a round green Gem in its place. One by one, the Mini-Scorpions disappeared, as well, in soft pops of dust. Opal and Ruby sighed in relief, and Ruby ran forward to Bubble the Gem.

Steven flinched when Sapphire's hand came swinging down, but no pain came. He cracked open an eye to look up at him. Her single eye was completely green, and slowly, it faded away. Her cornflower blue eye blinked, and then shut close as Sapphire groaned and stepped back from him. Her knuckledusters disappeared and she raised her hands to her shaking head.

A moment later, her eye fluttered open, looked down at him, and went wide. "Steven!"

She bent down and swung her fist down on the block imprisoning his foot. It shattered on impact, and Steven pulled his foot back to stand on his feet. Sapphire helped him, putting her hands on his arms to keep him steady.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Her voice was no longer in its usual drone, instead higher-pitched and shaking. Her single brow was furrowed worriedly. "I'm so sorry! I kept trying to stop, but I couldn't!" Her eye fell on the scratches on his arm. "I hurt you! Steven, why didn't you run! You should've just run!"

Steven didn't say anything to that, instead asking, "Are YOU okay?"

Sapphire blinked at him. Her eye went soft and a little smile came to her lips. "Of course. Never worrying about yourself."

"Welcome back hug?" Steven held his arms open for her.

Sapphire's eye rolled, but she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him anyway, careful not to touch his wound. Steven chuckled and patted her back. "I missed you."

"Me too."

"Hey!"

Sapphire pulled back from the hug and raised a hand to her bangs. She pulled them back down over her eye and dusted off the skirts of her dress as Ruby and Opal came running to them. Or rather, Opal was sliding on the ice like a seal while Ruby rode on her back.

"You guys okay?" asked Opal.

"How are you?" Ruby stepped forward to take Sapphire's head in her hands a bit too roughly, tipping it this way and that. "Are you still crazy?"

"I'm fine," said Sapphire. She pushed Ruby's hands off of her when Ruby continued to tip her head.

"Well that was fun, wasn't it?" laughed Steven. None of the others laughed with him. "...Yeah, okay. I'm super tired, so I don't know about you guys, but I'm hitting the hay."

Sapphire hummed as they slid across the ice to the dry sand. "We missed the new episode of Crying Breakfast Friends."

"It comes back on tomorrow morning. We can watch it then."

Ruby, with her arms and legs still wrapped around Opal to ride, scoffed and craned her head to ask, "Why do you guys watch that show? It doesn't make any sense."

Steven sighed and turned to Sapphire. "Everyone's a critic."

Sapphire hummed in agreement.

* * *

 **The ask blog is now up!**

 **osrasaskblog . tumblr . com  
**


	9. The Friend

"WHAAAAT IS THAAAAT?"

Opal shrugged. "He followed us home from the desert. We have no idea where he came from."

Steven's jaw was hanging to the floor. There, in the middle of the living room, was a LION, probably twice Steven's height. His body was covered in pink fur, the soft man a lighter color. Curiously enough, he seemed completely calm and not-scary. His tongue emerged from behind its white teeth to lick at its heart-shaped nose before disappearing once more.

"What's his name?"

Ruby Bubbled the pillow-encased Gem - the Desert Glass they had meant to capture earlier - and sent it away before she responded, "Giant Pink Lion?"

"Hm. We can call him Lion for short!" Steven stepped forward to come face-to-face with the new animal. "Amazing! I wonder if he can understand me." Steven cupped the Lion's face in his hands and spoke slowly. "My name is Steven. I mean you no harm. I am friend, not foe. Do you understand me?"

Lion blinked at Steven mutely. Then, suddenly, its muzzle pushed into Steven's torso, sending the boy falling down. Steven didn't even have time to move before Lion was suddenly lying on top of him. Steven managed to pull himself out and took a breath of air before beaming up at the Gems. "Can we keep him? Pleeeeeease?"

"Um...no?" Opal held up her lower hands to start counting off of her fingers. "We don't know where he came from, we have nowhere for him to stay, no idea what he eats, and in case you forgot, your last pet didn't turn out so well."

Sapphire placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can't take a goldfish for a walk, Steven."

Steven's head dropped. "A moment of silence for Willie, please."

Everyone complied and shut their eyes respectfully. A moment later, Steven was smiling again and gestured to Lion. The pink feline was licking at his paw. "But this will be different! I can take care of him, I swear!"

Ruby stroked her chin in thought. She turned to Sapphire and asked, "How will this turn out?"

Sapphire paused. "Hm...This can work."

The two of them looked up at Opal for a final confirmation. The four-armed giant woman paused and narrowed her eyes at Steven and the Lion. She crossed her arms over her chest and belly.

Steven took Lion's lips into his fingers and moved them as Steven himself spoke through the side of his mouth. "'I love you, Opal!'"

Opal continued to watch with sharp eyes, but pointed at them a moment later. "Your flattery has spared you." She threw her arms into the air in surrender. "Fine! He can stay!"

"LION BUDDY!" Steven threw his arms around the Lion's neck and nuzzled into his soft mane. Lion just licked his nose again.

"You keep an eye on him," advised Opal. Ruby and Sapphire were already turning away to the Temple Door. "Both of you stay out of trouble."

Ruby had already disappeared into her Room. When Sapphire held up her Gem to it, it disappeared in a white flash. She turned back to Steven as she stepped inside. "There's going to be a large storm today. Don't stay out too long."

"Of course! Come on, Lion." Steven pulled the screen door open and waved his arm. "Time to show you your new home!"

Lion finally stood on its four legs and stretched his back tiredly. Nevertheless, he was soon out the door and out of sight. Steven sent one last thumbs-up to Opal before they both parted ways.

* * *

"This is my house, which is also your house." On the sand of the beach, Steven gestured up to his Room. The Temple's stone face stared down at them with her ever-serene expression. "Mi casa es your house."

Lion's ear flicking was his only response. Steven then gestured to the shaded area below the deck. "This can be where you stay. My dad has a couple of cat-things in his storage unit, so maybe you can have them! You like cat-things right? Here."

Steven picked up a lone stick from the sand. "Fetch!"

He threw the stick as hard as he could. It sailed through the air and landed some fifteen yards away. Lion hardly glanced at it before his hind leg started scratching at his ear.

"...Or not. How about we go into the city part of Beach City?" Lion followed Steven we he walked away from his Room. "I'm sure everyone wants to meet you! The Pizzas, the Frymans, my dad - Hey! Maybe I can convince Mayor Dewey to make you Beach City's new mascot!"

"Wait! No, no, no, no, no!"

Steven stopped when he heard a distant voice calling. He kept walking forward, now driven by curiosity, and saw that it was coming from a girl some ways down the beach. She was wearing a knee-length sundress, and both it and her long, dark hair were billowing in the wind. The girl was running around in circles, trying to catch what appeared to be a sunhat twirling in the air.

As Steven watched, the girl dived forward in a futile attempt to snatch it back. The sunhat practically danced away from her and towards the water. She tried to follow, but had no other choice but to stop when the water threatened to touch the hem of her dress. She sighed and watched helplessly as her hat continued its way to the sea.

Steven watched this from afar, and curiously turned to Lion. "Do you think you can go get it? Or are you afraid of water, like other cats?"

Lion blinked at him. Then, for some reason, he knelt down, so that his back was at Steven's level. Steven thought he knew what he meant, but wanted to make sure.

Steven put a hand on Lion's back, and when the feline gave a confirming chuff, Steven hoisted himself upwards. He took a moment to make himself comfortable. "So...you didn't answer my q - GAH!"

Steven hardly had time to grab fistfuls of Lion's mane when he suddenly shot forward. The wind lapped at his face as Lion sped forward in the direction of the water. Steven was sure that Lion was going to need to drop him to swim, but was proven fantastically wrong.

Rather, Lion's paws touched the water as if they were as solid as Earth. Lion's eyes were trained on the hat, now dipping lower with the lighter wind gusts. Lion's legs moved faster, and Steven yelped when they leaped over a cresting wave.

They were ten feet away from the hat, then five, then Lion had it safely between his teeth. Lion's body turned and he dug his paws down into the water. Small waves splashed upwards as he skidded to a halt.

Lion came back to the shore in a sort of trot. He knelt down and allowed Steven to hop off of him. Steven took the sunhat from his teeth and went to scratching behind Lion's ears. "Good boy! You must be some sort of SUPER giant pink lion!"

Lion just chuffed again. Steven then remembered why they had went after the hat to begin with, and approached the girl standing a few feet away. She looked positively dumbfounded, with a hanging jaw and wide eyes.

Steven held the sunhat out to her and beamed. "Here ya go!"

The girl numbly took the sunhat back and placed it back on her head. "I...um...thank you."

"Thank Lion!"

The girl looked past him to Lion. He was rolling on the sand like a lazy house-cat. "Is that your...pet?"

Steven shrugged. "I guess he is now. Oh, wait." He stuck his hand out. "My name's Steven Universe. What's yours?"

The girl shook his hand politely, but a small smile appeared on her lips as she chuckled, "'Universe'?"

Steven pulled his hand back to cup his cheeks in wonder. "We have the same name!"

"What? Oh, no, no. My name's Connie Maheswaran."

"Oh. Well, it's nice to meet ya, Connie! So what are you doing all by yourself on the beach?"

Connie shyly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She didn't look at Steven as she answered, "I was just reading for a couple of hours. Not much else to do around here..."

One of Steven's bushy eyebrows rose in bemusement. "There are tons of things to do in Beach City!"

Connie murmured something under her breath. Steven couldn't quite make it out, but it sounded a bit like 'Not when you don't have any friends.' "What?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. She took a step forward to get a better look at Lion. He was not immobile on his back. "I've never seen anyone with a pink lion for a pet."

"Lion's special like that." Steven petted Lion's soft belly as he spoke. Lion made a sort of content groan as he did so. "I've known him for not even a day and we're already best friends!"

Connie chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't think it's that easy."

"Sure it is! Hey, why don't you meet him?"

Connie opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when Steven took a gentle hold of her hand and pulled him forward. He knelt down to Lion's face and said, "Lion, this is Connie. She's a friend."

Lion remained silent. Steven turned to Connie and asked, "Do you want to pet him?"

"Um...Will he let me?"

"Sure he will! Here."

Steven took Connie's hand in his and guided it to Lion's upturned chest. Her hand moved hesitantly at first, then faster when Lion made a sort of "get on with it" growl. "Cool...!"

Steven let her continue. After a minute, he spoke up, "We'll leave you alone if you want to keep reading."

Connie went still, then turned to Steven with incredible speed and asked, "What time is it?"

"Hm..." Steven put his hands on his hips and looked upwards to the sky. The sun was hidden behind the graying clouds, a bright white blur in a blank void. "According to my calculations and the position of the sun...Midnight."

"Oh no, oh no, oh no." Connie span around in the sand and darted for the thick blue book laying a few feet away. She grabbed it and pulled her windblown hair out of her face as she explained, "I have to catch the bus to go home! I have to go NOW."

Her feet kicked up sand as she took off running. Steven's voice called out, "Wait!", and she turned back around.

"We can get you there!" Steven started pushing on Lion's side. He whined in reply, but nevertheless rolled over onto his belly. "Hop on!"

Connie's nose wrinkled. "Wait, what?"

Steven pulled himself up onto Lion's back. He held a hand out to Connie and told her in an assuring tone, "I won't let you fall!"

Connie reluctantly put her hand in his and pulled herself onto Steven's back. She wrapped her arms around his torso, and kept her legs tight around Lion's sides.

"Alright," said Steven. "Hold on! Go, Lion!"

Lion immediately took off. Connie yelped and gripped Steven tighter from the initial lurch, and they bounced up and down as Lion's paws kicked up the sand of the beach. Connie eventually calmed down and loosened her hold on Steven. She marveled at the experience, and the fear she had before had all but evaporated.

As they passed stores and shops, they saw everyone preparing for the incoming storm. The Frymans were closing down the shop, much to Peedee's obvious displeasure. The thrift shop in town was pulling in the racks of sweaters they usually kept outside, one of the helpers shouting, "Hurry! The raincoats will get wet!" The video store (the one where Steven bought his televisions from) was displaying the weather channel in its front window. The woman on the screen was gesturing to the map behind her, depicting small images of storm clouds and rain drops. She was urging viewers to prepare for a harsh storm this evening, which was going to have high winds and hard rain.

With some words of help from Connie, Steven guided Lion to the bus stop around the middle of town. There was no bus waiting at the curb, and Connie hopped off from Lion's back to run to the ticket seller. Steven waited atop Lion and frowned when Connie walked back to them with a crestfallen expression. She heavily sat down on the bench at the curb, and Steven slid off of Lion's back to sit beside her.

"The bus left five minutes ago," she sighed. She let her head hang backwards so she could stare pitifully up at the sky. "My parents are going to be home in two hours, and the next bus to my house doesn't come until three hours from now."

"Won't they understand if you just tell them you were a few minutes late?"

Connie shook her head. "I barely even convinced my mom to let me walk around town by myself. She'll take my bus pass when she finds out. And ground me, probably. I really hope she doesn't use the abacus."

"Aba-what?"

Connie sighed. "Nevermind. Thanks for taking me here, Steven. You can go now if you want to."

Steven scratched his chin thoughtfully. Then his temple, then his hair. Finally, he snapped his fingers, and the light bulb in the streetlamp above them flickered on. Steven hopped to his feet and declared, "Lion can take you there!"

Connie leaned forward and shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no, you don't have to do that."

"But we want to! Right, Lio - Oh, wait." Steven jogged over to Lion, who had become bored and started to trot away. He ran in front of the pink feline and guided him back to the bench. Lion obediently sat down when Steven patted him on his hind leg. "It's no trouble for us. Plus, you won't get in trouble and your parents won't have to use the abracadabra."

"Abacus."

"Yeah, that. What do you say?"

Connie rubbed a hand up her arm and glanced behind him. The sky has been a blank gray slate all day, but now it was darkening over the horizon. She could make out actual clouds now. Some stores that usually had chairs and signs outside their shops had already pulled them in. Mayor Dewey's van drove by them with several tarps pulled over the paper-mâché replica of the mayor's head. The wind was lapping at their hair and clothes, already growing stronger.

"I don't know," Connie murmured. "We should probably find somewhere to wait out the storm."

"I don't want you to get in trouble for something that wasn't your fault. Please? We'll get you home before the storm starts, I promise."

Connie sent one last look to the sky. The storm could take hours to wait out, and she didn't want her parents driving in the weather to come get her. She sighed, but nodded. "Alright. But we need to hurry."

"Of course." Steven tapped Lion's side to get him on his paws again. He climbed up onto Lion's back and pulled Connie up with him. "Alright, Lion, we're heading to Connie's."

"Oh no!"

Steven and Connie both turned their heads to see who had spoken. The owner of the pet store, a stout woman with curly locks of red hair, was standing outside her doors with a fallen box beside her. Balls and stuffed plushies and other toys were spilling out against the asphalt. Some feathery toys were picked up by the wind.

"My toys!" The store owner flailed her arms in a panic. "My brand new cat toys!"

"Well that was peculiarly well-timed." Steven said this over his shoulder to Connie. He was oblivious to the fact that the feathery toys had passed right in front of them, being swept away in the wind. "Good thing Lion isn't like other cats, huwhoa!"

Steven and Connie both yelped and flailed for something to grab when Lion suddenly lunged after the toys. They danced out of his grip and were quickly speeding away in the wind. Lion lunged after them again, and he was soon chasing them through the streets.

"LION, STOP IT!" Steven tugged hard on Lion's mane in a fruitless attempt to bring him under control. Behind him, Connie was squeezing him tight and squealing when Lion jumped into the air. "WE HAVE TO GET CONNIE HOME OR HER PARENTS WILL USE THE APPLE-KISS ON HER!"

Lion sped past Barbara the mailwoman, and the gust in his wake sent the letters in her hand flying. A few carpenters at the hardware store were moving a pane of glass out to the bus and flinched when they saw Lion approaching. Lion luckily jumped over the glass and kept running. A moment later, the glass broke anyway, for no real reason.

Lion had his sights set on the feather-toys even as he entered a street of moving vehicles. He jumped from car roof to car roof, not really damaging anything but nevertheless startling the drivers.

Lion landed on the road again, and the car in front of him squealed to a halt. It was Jenny Pizza and her friends, Buck Dewey and Sour Cream, in her family's pizza-printed jeep. The three of them blinked at Lion in surprise - Buck lowered his reflective shades in surprise - but Jenny grinned ear-to-ear and pulled out her cellphone. "Sweet ride, Steven! Smile!"

She snapped the picture just as Lion bounded over their car. He continued to run all throughout Beach City, dodging whatever came in his path, despite Connie and Steven's shouts for him to stop.

He finally did, but only when he finally got the feathers. He took one last bound forward and clamped his paws around them. This caused him to sprawl into the sand of the beach and send Steven and Connie tumbling off of him. Both of them grunted as they fell.

They were on the eastern beach side, not the one with the boardwalk. The Temple was still at the other end, the silhouettes of its arms almost mixing in with the dark skies. The clouds were already deep gray at the end of beach city, hardly lightening over the town. There were a few small flashes of lightning within their midst, and the wind was whipping fiercely.

Lion was nevertheless having the time of his life with the feathery toys. He pawed at them and flicked at them like a regular house-cat, and ignored Steven when he stood in front of him.

"Bad Lion!" Steven's scolding fell on deaf ears. "Bad, bad Lion! You could have hurt someone!" He paused. "What, are you not going to say anything? That's it. You're grounded. When we get home - "

"Steven!"

Connie pointed a finger at the darkening sky. "Forget about it! Let's just get somewhere safe!"

"No! I don't want you to get in trouble for something that was MY fault!"

"It doesn't matter! I'd much rather be grounded than vaporized by lightning!"

"Yes, it does matter. To me, it does."

Connie threw her arms into the air. " _Why_ do you _care_?!"

"Because you're my friend!" Steven stomped his foot in the sand as he said this. "Friends are supposed to care!"

Connie blinked at him. The book still clutched in her hand almost fell from her grip. Slowly, she said, "But...I...You've only known me for a day."

"So? You're still my friend. I still don't want to see you get in trouble. Please just let me help? I promise we'll get you home."

"I..." Connie stopped when a rumble of thunder sounded. Not a moment later, light rain was drizzling down on them. Connie hugged her book protectively to her chest. She looked back at Steven, who held out a hand to her. "...Okay."

She took Steven's hand, and the two of them nodded to each other. Steven pulled her along as he marched up to Lion and snatched the feathers from him. He stuffed them into his pocket and sternly told his new pet, "We're going now. Do you understand me?"

He wasn't sure if Lion did, but nevertheless, he was already standing back to his paws. Steven helped Connie onto Lion's back and climbed on after her. He pulled on a piece of Lion's mane lightly. "Let's go."

Lion took off running for the town. Connie began to guide Steven, telling him when and where to turn, and Steven dug his heel into Steven's side to direct him.

As they moved, the rain became harder, going from a light drizzle to a downpour to barrages of water. They were all soaked within minutes and struggled to keep their eyes open. Thunder rumbled above them and lightning flashed white and purple. The wind was whipping harshly at them.

Connie kept herself tightly wrapped around Steven and Lion. She squealed when thunder crackled sharp overhead. It was cold and wet and she couldn't see but she kept holding on.

Steven called out over the rain, "COME ON, LION! TAKE US TO CONNIE'S!"

Although neither Steven nor Connie saw it, Lion's eyes went from squinting to wide open. Lion took in a deep breath and let out a roar loud enough to cause Connie and Steven to flinch. From Lion's mouth erupted pink waves that formed together to form a peculiar pink shape before them. Neither Steven nor Connie had time to ask what it was before Lion sent them right through it.

What they entered next could only be described as a vortex. Unnameable colors whipped by them with such force that it nearly sent them flying straight off of Lion. The experience didn't last long, however, as Lion roared again, forming another 'portal' and sending them through that one, as well.

Lion's paws touched the ground a moment later. Steven and Connie grunted at the sudden slam of gravity and groaned at its after effects. Steven heard Connie gasp behind him and opened his eyes to see where they were.

They were in a neighborhood that Steven didn't recognize. Identical houses were lined up side-by-side on either side of the street. The weather was remarkably better here, albeit not perfect, as the sky was still dark and thundering and rain was lightly drizzling.

"My house!" Connie hopped off Lion's back and stood before the house nearest to them. "How…This is my house!"

Steven hopped down to his feet to take Lion's face into his hands. "So not only are you a giant pink lion who can walk on water, but you're a giant pink _GPS_ lion who can walk on water and summon portals?!"

Lion just pulled his face back from Steven and rolled over onto his back.

"Well…" Connie took the skirt of her dress and started to wipe her book down. "That was both terrifying and amazing. Thank you." She grinned at Steven.

Steven's cheeks flushed pink. "Eh, it was no big deal. As long as you don't get grounded with the Abigail-Disk, right?"

Connie opened her mouth, but just shook her head and chuckled. "Right."

Steven's bashful grin fell into a curious expression. Rubbing a hand along the back of his neck, he said, "Hey, is it okay if I ask you something?"

"Mm-hm."

"Why are you always alone at the beach?"

"I…What, 'always'?"

Steven took a deep breath and flexed his fingers. "Um…" He cleared his throat and gave an uneven chuckle. "Can I be honest with you here?" He paused. "Without you not wanting to do anything with me again forever?"

Connie blinked. "Um…Okay."

"I've been seeing you coming to the beach for a while now. Always around noon-ish, always at that spot on the beach, always reading a book. Why?"

It was Connie's turn to flush this time. She ran a hand up and down her arm as she spoke. "Well…I don't really have any friends. I mean, I move around a lot, so I don't get around to making any, so I'm always by myself and…" She bit her lip and raised her brown eyes back to Steven. "Can I be honest with you, too?"

Steven closed his eyes somberly. "I am prepared for whatever shock you are about to give me."

"Alright." Connie took in a shaky breath. "Do you remember that fancy dinner party they had on the beach a while back?"

Steven thought back to it – fighting the Gem shards, dancing with Opal, Sapphire singing while Ruby cracked open oysters in the background. "Yeah. Wait, were you there?"

Connie nodded. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd remember. I was the girl that you and your blue friend were helping, remember? When you grabbed the cheese-and-crackers platter to pin down the leg?" She said this last part with a light chuckle.

Steven could vaguely remember a girl in a blue dress being caught in a cluster of people at the party, and Sapphire grabbing her hand to pull her away. He didn't get a good look at her face when it happened. "That was you?"

"Yeah. And I…I kind of wanted to talk to you after that…?" She shrugged awkwardly. "I thought you guys were really cool and I found out that you lived in the statue on the beach and I wanted to talk to you but I always lost my nerve and just sat on the beach instead."

For a moment, Steven just blinked dumbly at her. Then his eyes went starry and a flattered smile graced his face. "You think I'm cool?"

Connie laughed and nodded. Another rumble of thunder sounded overhead, and the rain came down just a bit harder. Connie tugged her sun hat closer down on her head. "I should probably get inside before it gets too rough out here. Can Lion take you home?"

"Hey, Lion! Can you - ?" Steven didn't need to finish, as Lion had already roared and summoned another portal. "…I love you, Lion."

"Thanks for today," said Connie. "Really. It was…fun, I guess."

"No problem. We should hang out sometime." Steven held his hand out in a fist. "Friends?"

Connie grinned and bumped her fist against his. "Friends." She turned on her heel and bounded up to her front door. "Later, Steven!"

"Bye, Connie!" Steven ran to Lion and brought himself up on his back. He tapped his heels against the feline's hind legs. "Okay, buddy. Take me home!"

Lion gave a tired growl, but nevertheless leaped into the portal awaiting them.


	10. The Fusion

"Are you sure you've got this?"

Steven winced as Ruby brought her gauntlet smashing against the boulder once again. A few pieces chipped off, but it still refused to break. Steven had hoped to get rid of the boulder underneath the deck so Lion could have more room to lie down. Ruby had offered to help, but hadn't made much progress yet. All she'd managed was a few cracks and chips. Still, she refused to give up.

Ruby huffed and rolled her shoulders. "Of course I've got this!"

She swung her gauntlet at the boulder again. A small crack appeared, but not much else. So she swung again, then again.

Steven opened his mouth, closed it when she swung again, then hurriedly said, "Maybe I should just get Opal. She can blow it up, right?"

Ruby pushed her headband farther up her forehead. Stubbornly, she retorted, "Steven, I can handle this. Just give me a minute."

So she went on a few minutes, punching and smashing the boulder with all of her strength. Her grunts and shouts became louder with each swing. Steven didn't hear the door of his Room swing open, but noticed when Sapphire appeared at the railing of the deck. The blue Gem lifted herself over the railing and gently hovered down to the sand beside Steven. She handed him a bottle of cold water, and he thanked her before taking a gulp.

With her hands clasped together as usual, Sapphire said, "Can you please do that quietly?"

Ruby took another swing, and rolled her eyes. "Sorry, let me just pound it with pillows."

She swung again. Steven flinched when a piece of rock bounced across his forehead from the blow.

Sapphire's face was as straight as ever as she said, "Opal can take care of that."

Ruby finally turned away from the boulder and threw her hands in the air. "Opal doesn't have to 'take care' of everything, you know! I can handle this by myself!"

Steven replied, "Wouldn't asking Opal for help be easier? Can't she just...hug it?"

Ruby didn't reply to him this time, instead going back to pounding the boulder. Sapphire stepped forward, not enough to get in Ruby's way, but enough to get her to turn to her again. "Steven's right. Don't push yourself."

"Alright, look." Ruby rounded on Sapphire. Ripples of heat were rising off of her, and her hands moved flippantly as she rambled on. "I. Don't. Need. Opal. I'm not going to ask her to help, I'm not going to give up on this, and we're clearly not going to form Garnet or anything, so I'm going to pound this thing until. IT. BREAKS!"

Ruby's gauntlets moved in a flurry of red against the boulder. Dust and rocks and chips blasted away as if her fists were a powerful drill, and Steven backed away from the spray. Sapphire remained immobile and expressionless, even as the dust gathered on her dress and hair.

After a few minutes of this, the boulder was no more than a pile of pebbles. Ruby laughed breathlessly. Her chest was heaving up and down and sweat was rolling down her arms and face. She threw her hands in the air victoriously, but soon fell backwards and landed heavily in the sand.

"See...?" She grinned at them as she panted on the ground. "I...*huff*...I totally...*puff*...had it...!"

"Um...Thanks, Ruby. Now I just have to tell Lion about his new b - Nevermind."

Steven stopped when he saw that Lion had already appeared and laid down in the shade of the deck. Sapphire unclasped her hands and swung them down across her body. The dust all over her flew off of her as if by explosive force. Steven yelped when bits of it got in his eyes, which made Sapphire grab his water bottle and toss its contents on his face to flush it out.

"Thanks," Steven sighed afterwards. He wiped his face of the excess water, and then turned to Ruby. "Hey, Ruby?"

Ruby was staring up at the sky, but breathlessly answered, "*Huff*...yeah...?"

"What's a 'Garnet'?"

Ruby stopped panting. She pushed herself up onto her elbows to look at Steven. "What?"

"You said 'We're clearly not going to form Garnet'. What's a Garnet?"

Ruby glanced at Sapphire. She said nothing, but gave a single nod of her head.

Ruby put her hands behind her head and pushed herself to her feet. She dusted the sand off of her clothes and turned to Steven. "Alright, well...There's this thing that Gems can do called 'fusing'." Ruby held up her hands and pointed her fingers so that they looked like two people. "Two or more Gems can dance together - " She moved her fingers so that the hand-people approached one another. " - and form a bigger, stronger Gem." She clapped her hands together at the end. Then she put a hand on her hip as she added, "'Garnet' is the Gem that Sapphire and I form when we fuse."

Steven's eyes went sparkly when he thought about that. He was imagining a giant woman, three times his size, with a mish-mash of Ruby and Sapphire's features - Sapphire's long hair, but dark, two eyes, but blue, wearing both Sapphire's long blue dress and Ruby's red tank top and pants.

"Cool..." He cooed. "So, is it like, you and Sapphire take turns controlling Garnet?"

"It's more complicated than that," Sapphire spoke up. "Fusions are entirely new beings than their components."

"Really?" Ruby and Sapphire both nodded. Steven's grin only grew wider. "Tell me more! What's Garnet like?"

"Well..." A cocky smirk appeared on Ruby's face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "She's a super strong war machine. Could have destroyed that boulder in one punch. That part comes from me."

Steven nodded eagerly. "What about Sapphire?"

The smirk dropped. Ruby rolled her hand unsurely. "Eh...She doesn't really talk much. I guess."

"Oh. Hm." Steven's disappointment was only momentary. "If she's super strong, why don't you guys form Garnet all the time?"

Ruby shrugged one shoulder. "Because Sapphire and I don't get along."

Steven frowned and turned to Sapphire. "Why would that matter?"

"Gems have to be on agreeing terms in order to fuse," she explained. "Most of the time, Ruby and I are...not."

Ruby snorted. "You can say that again. It's no big deal, Steve. We get along just fine without Garnet."

She and Sapphire both started for the stairs. Steven followed, talking as they climbed up. "So, like...How many Gems can form a fusion?"

"Any amount," said Ruby. "They just have to get along."

"Oh. So..." Steven paused as they all entered his Room. "Does it matter what order the fusion comes in? Like, if Garnet fuses with Opal and forms a fusion, is it going to be the same fusion if Sapphire fuses with Opal and then you fuse with that fusion? Does it matter?"

Ruby turned to him, blinking slowly. "You lost me at 'fusion.'"

The Temple Door split apart into four pieces that pulled away from each other. Opal stepped out a moment later. She smiled when she saw them, and leapt over the Warp Pad so that she landed in front of them. "There you guys are!"

"Is something wrong?" asked Steven.

"Nope!" Opal shook her head vehemently. "I had to tell you guys - I just remembered something."

Steven gasped in wonder. Sapphire only lifted her head slightly. Ruby grinned like a proud parent and cooed, "All by yourself?"

Opal nodded with a toothy smile. Her hands started to move as she told her story. "Okay, so I was in my Room, and while I was there, I noticed that there was a bug flying around. So of course, I started thinking about bugs, like butterflies, bees, wasps, and caterpillars. Then I started thinking about how similar caterpillars and worms are. And snakes. But snakes aren't insects. Unless they are and I didn't - "

"Opal," interrupted Ruby. "What's your point?"

Opal blinked, and her hands dropped to her sides. "...What?"

Ruby sighed and ran a hand down her face. "Oh honey."

Steven said slowly, "You were thinking about bugs and you remembered something."

Opal's mouth formed an 'O', and then she threw her head back and laughed. "Right, right. I remembered the Centipeetle. The one out at the Jungle Temple? It's still out there and we should probably take care of it."

"Alright," said Ruby. She stretched her arms above her head as she walked to the Warp Pad. "I've got it."

"Wait, Ruby." Ruby turned to Opal with a raised brow. "You can't go alone on this one."

Ruby sighed - she heard this argument sometimes - and crossed her muscular arms over her chest. "Why not?" she asked in an exasperated voice.

"Because that Centipeetle is probably a thousand times bigger by now, and she probably has offspring, too. I know you don't like to hear this, but you need help."

Ruby groaned. Steven knew that if anyone could convince Ruby to do/not do something, it was Opal. She always proved to be right in knowing what Ruby could and couldn't handle, even if Ruby would never admit to it.

"Fine," sighed Ruby. She waved her hand without looking at Opal. "Let's go."

"Nope. Today is Taco Tuesday." Opal crossed a pair of arms over her chest and used the other to grab her 'KISS THE CHEF' apron from the counter and tie it around her waist. "And I'm the only one who can reach the top cabinets. Sapphire is going with you."

Sapphire was already calmly headed for the Warp Pad, but Ruby was throwing her hands into the air with an overdramatic groan. "Are you kidding me?"

"If I were, I'd be laughing. Whether you like it or not, you're going together."

Steven's eyes went wide when he realized something: If Ruby and Sapphire were sent on a mission together, and then maybe they would fuse into Garnet! Steven eagerly raised his hand. He bounced on his heels.

"Yes, Steven?"

"Can I come?" Steven squished his cheeks together. "Pleeeeease?"

Ruby ran a hand over the back of her neck. Thoughtfully, she murmured, "I don't know, this may be too - "

Steven was quick to muster up his infamous Puppy-Dog Eyes and stare straight at her.

Ruby sucked air through her teeth and recoiled. She blocked her eyes with her hands as if blinded by the look and shouted, "Fine! Fine. Just stop with that look."

"Whoo!" Steven grabbed his cheeseburger backpack on the couch and darted to the Warp Pad. He squeezed tight between Ruby and Sapphire. The two Gems were awkwardly shoved to the edge of the Warp Pad, their shoulders pressed to their cheeks. "See you later, Opal!"

"You three be careful," Opal called like a concerned mother.

The Warp Pad lit up, and a moment later, the three of them had vanished.

Opal put her hands on her hips and looked around the kitchen. She pulled the strings of her apron tighter as she wondered aloud, "Now where did I put my apron...?"

* * *

The trip on the Warp Pad was a short one. When it fell away, Steven was quick to look around. They were in a jungle, definitely, but it wasn't like any jungle that he'd ever seen. The bark of the trees was stark white, the vines a silvery-blue, and the leaves so brightly green they were almost neon. Shimmering yellow flowers sprouted from the vines and bushes, and when Steven reached out to touch one at the base of the Warp Pad, it disappeared in a puff of yellow dust. Although he couldn't see any animals, he could hear distant bird calls in the canopy.

"Alright," Ruby hopped off the Warp Pad and landed with an audible THUMP on the grass and leaves below. Sapphire and Steven followed her as she continued, "I'm going to need everyone to listen to me. Just do what I do when I say it and we can all be home before dark. Are we clear?"

Steven pumped a fist into the air and gave a battle cry of "FOR TACO TUESDAY!"

"Sapphire?" Ruby called over her shoulder. "We clear?"

"..."

Ruby furrowed her brows and, as she kept brushing branches and twigs out of her path, turned to look at Sapphire. "Sapphire?"

Sapphire kept her hands clasped even as the branches brushed against her. She paused for another moment, but eventually said, "I believe Opal intended for us to work as a team."

"Of course she did." Ruby paused when they came to a small incline in the ground. She slid down on her feet; Sapphire jumped over it and landed gently on the ground, while Steven attempted to mimic Ruby but ended up tumbling. "I'm just acting as the team leader."

Sapphire said nothing, and Steven could tell that she wasn't in the mood for arguing. So, as he dusted the dirt and leaves off of his clothes, he spoke for her. "I think Sapphire means that we're not supposed to have a leader. We just work together." He held up three fingers and put them together. "A Three-Team."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I've worked in a Three-Team before, Steven, and it always led to disaster."

"Well, why don't you guys make it a TWO-Team instead?"

"What?" She pulled a particularly large limb out of her path and pointed ahead. "Oh, we're already here."

Steven craned his neck to see. The temple looked like a pyramid, except that it had six sides instead of the usual four. Years of vines and dirt covered the otherwise untarnished blue stone that it was made out of. There were a few broken pillars dotted around the Temple, but other than that, there was nothing else around. It looked like it had been abandoned for quite a long time.

They walked forward, and as Steven looked around, he noticed a few oddities: splotches of discolored glass, parts of pillars eroded away, a few white hairs here and there.

Ruby noticed it, too, and sighed. "Opal was right. Probably Centipeetles everywhere inside."

Steven hummed thoughtfully. "What do Centipeetles look like?"

Ruby shrugged one shoulder. The three of them began to descend the stone steps to the mouth of the Temple. "They kind of look like centipedes, except they're green and black and they have white hair."

"Do they have one eye?"

Ruby furrowed her brows in thought. "Yeah, I think so. In their mouths."

Steven hummed again, and then clicked his tongue. "Well, they seem friendly."

Ruby and Sapphire turned around. Around a dozen or so Centipeetles, which were not there just a moment before, were surrounding the Temple. Large green eyes flashed in their black jaws. Acidic green spittle flew out of their mouths as they hissed and scuttled closer to them. More crawled from behind pillars and shrubs, multiplying by the second.

"Oh no," Steven cried all too melodramatically. "Whatever shall we do. I bet fusing into a giant woman would help us here."

Ruby gave him an utterly deadpan expression, but Steven just kept his eyes wide open in fake fear. "It's not happening, Steve."

Steven sighed in defeat. Ruby pumped her fist and summoned her gauntlets on either hand. "Sapphire, you get Steven and run inside. I'll hold them off."

Steven looked at the Centipeetles coming closer. They were crawling up the Temple walls, occasionally spitting out jets of acid. Steven smiled at one that approached him. "They don't seem that bad. I think this one likes me!" He paused when the Centipeetle latched his jaws around his arm, squeezing it. "...Maybe not. Ow. OW!"

Ruby had it sailing in one punch. It disappeared into green dust when it came into contact with the ground.

"I'll be fine," retorted Ruby. "Just go - HEY!"

Ruby yelped when Sapphire suddenly took a hold of her arm, then Steven's, and pulled them to the Temple entrance so fast that their feet left the ground. Sapphire all but threw them inside, and wasted no time in reaching for the small lever beside the entrance. She gave it a slight flick of her wrist, and it immediately spun out. A stone wall fell before them, crushing a few Centipeetles and blocking out any others that drew near.

Ruby pulled herself to her feet and glared at Sapphire. "I could have handled that."

"No, you couldn't."

Ruby angrily spat, "How do you know?"

Sapphire was silent, and even though her eye was concealed, Steven could tell she was blankly staring Ruby down.

Ruby only realized what she said a moment later, and when she did, she sputtered, little waves of heat rising from her body. After a few moments of incoherent sounds, she threw her hands down and declared, "JUST STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" She waved her hand forward. "Come on!"

She went marching forward, and although it wasn't much of a reaction, Sapphire let out a small sigh and followed. Steven jogged to keep up with them.

The halls of the Temple were also eroded, pockmarks of missing stone dotting the walls and floors. They encountered a few more Centipeetles here and there, but Ruby quickly and easily took care of them.

As they neared the center of the Temple, they came across a room with a walkway connecting one side to the other. Either side of the walkway held a pit so deep that their bottoms were obscured by shadows. Everything was still, but Steven knew just by the layout that something was wrong with the room.

"I know what this is," he said.

"You do?" asked Ruby.

He nodded. "This is a booby-trap walkway. There's probably going to be swinging blades and arrows and jets of fire. So we're probably going to have to find some way around."

Ruby was clearly impressed. "That's actually good evaluation."

"...But I bet a giant woman would be able to get th - "

"Steven."

" - I REALLY want to see Garnet."

Ruby sighed and once again waved her arm forward. "We're finding another way around. C'mon, Sapphire."

She turned, but saw that the blue Gem was no longer by her side. Ruby looked back into the hallway, calling, "Sapphire?"

There was a sound of commotion behind them, and Ruby span back around. She blanched. "SAPPHIRE!"

Sapphire was already moving across the walkway. The booby traps that Steven had guessed were there inevitably appeared. Two large blades came swinging down. Sapphire stopped and moved when she needed to, easily missing them. Next came the typical barrages of arrows that shot out from either side. Sapphire ducked and dodged with incredible speed, even catching a few and tossing them over her shoulder.

Steven cupped his hands around his mouth. "Sapphire, stop! WE LOVE YOU!"

Ruby grit her teeth anxiously. She turned to Steven and demanded, "Stay here!"

As she went running forward, Steven called, "Where else would I go?!"

Ruby ran straight through the swinging blades, but stopped when she came to the walls of arrows. She put one step forward, and flinched when that summoned an arrow to come down right by her foot. She took a deep breath, then moved forward, side-stepping left and right, whispering under her breath, "Zigzag, zigzag, zigzag, ROLL!"

She rolled forward out of the arrows' path and looked up to see what Sapphire was doing next. She was moving across a board of lit-up panels, probably only being allowed to touch a few, but stepped off before Ruby could see the pattern.

Ruby stepped forward and tried to figure out a pattern. There were no indications, no clues, and no colors that could tell her where to step. So she took a deep breath and braced herself for whatever punishment would befall her.

Instead of fire, or arrows, or anything really expected, the panel underneath her foot shot into the air. Ruby yelped and stumbled forward while the panel crashed straight into the ceiling above. She fell onto the panel in front of her, then the next, then the next, until the panels were a flurry of rising and dipping pillars. Ruby was bouncing around like a pachinko ball all the while.

She landed on the other side, thankfully, and looked up with a groan at Sapphire. She was walking across what looked to be a black floor. Then, suddenly, the black floor was alighting in orange, brighter and brighter.

Then, suddenly, it was nothing but hot orange flames, engulfing Sapphire into them.

Ruby blanched. "Sapphire!"

She ran straight into the flames, not at all bothered by their intense heat. However, heat aside, she was having a hard time seeing. Even blocking her eyes with her hand, she could see nothing but orange. She felt around blindly, calling Sapphire's name as if it were a game of Marco Polo. Steven watched from the other side of the room, biting his nails to the skin, then his fingers when there was nothing left to bite on.

The flames disappeared suddenly, and when Ruby looked around, Sapphire wasn't there. Her eyes scanned the floor, searching, but she stopped when she noticed that Sapphire was instead standing some five feet away, her hand on a button beside the exiting door.

Behind Ruby, the panels stopped moving, the arrows disappeared in puffs of smoke, and the swinging blades sheathed themselves into the walls. Steven stepped forward, slowly at first, but then running to catch up to them.

Sapphire put her hands back in her lap. "There was no other way around."

Steven could have stepped closer, but didn't when he felt the heat emitting from Ruby's body. The red Gem had her hands in tight fists and demanded, "You couldn't have TOLD us first?! You could have been killed!"

"I wouldn't have."

"WE didn't know that!" Ruby stepped closer to Sapphire and leaned forward to glare her down. "Are you seriously so full of yourself that you're not going to tell us things we REALLY need to know?! We don't ALL have future vision, in case you forgot!" When she was given no response, Ruby stepped past Sapphire to the now-open door. "Ugh! This is why we don't work together!"

Sapphire only paused a moment before following Ruby out of the room. Steven followed, but paused when he noticed the traces of frost on the floor. He called after them, "So, like, does this mean there's no chance of seeing Garnet today?...No?...Alright, I was just...if you guys want to, that'd be great! Giant woman..."

* * *

The idea of a giant woman became more and more evasive as they continued through the Temple. And it wasn't because they didn't need Garnet, or because something prevented her from coming. It was all Ruby and Sapphire.

Ruby continued with her 'Do-whatever-I-say' attitude. She wouldn't listen to neither Steven nor Sapphire's words of advice, as if even thinking about disagreeing with her was a bad idea. To her, there was an 'I' in 'team'. For example, they once came across a pit of resting Centipeetles. If she had listened to Steven's warning, Ruby would have known that she couldn't possibly make the jump across, and of course landed in the pit. Sapphire had to pull her out from the Centipeetles' clutches.

Sapphire, meanwhile, continued to keep quiet even if she needed to speak up. Her usually acceptable silence was beginning to grate on the mission at hand. In one instance, they had to fix a sort of puzzle with a series of moving blocks. Ruby, of course, took on the role of solving it, and it took her nearly a half-hour. Sapphire told Steven, but not Ruby, that there was a secret passage in the room.

Surprisingly, they didn't speak to each other much for the mission. Ruby would occasionally glare at Sapphire, say a rebuttal or two, but Sapphire was more silent than usual.

Steven's legs began to grow sore as they continued. Finally, he groaned, "How much longer?"

There was no response for a solid ten seconds. Ruby sighed and turned to Sapphire. "He's talking to you."

Sapphire turned her head to Steven's direction and simply stated, "The next room has the Mother Centipeetle inside."

Of course, Ruby didn't smile or cheer at that, but her sulky demeanor lightened just a bit. At least, enough for her to stop glaring at the ground and straighten her back. "Okay, how do we beat it?"

Sapphire said simply, "We attack it."

Ruby closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. They stopped in front of an ornate door five times Steven's size, covered in runes and images he didn't understand. Ruby, meanwhile, was becoming literally hotheaded as she asked, "No. Duh. HOW do we attack it?"

"The future is too varying for me to tell," said Sapphire. "This can go a million different ways."

"I thought you were oh-so-special because you can tell EXACTLY what's going to happen?"

Steven chewed on the inside of his lip. "Guys - "

"You know that's not true," said Sapphire. Little lines of frost were peaking from underneath her skirt and spreading to the floor. "The future will always be divisive, not at all helped by your...spontaneous character."

Ruby span around to Sapphire with wide eyes and furrowed brows. There was that heat again, now mixing in with the cool air coming from Sapphire's direction. She stepped forward, her feet almost touching Sapphire's skirt, as she demanded, "Are you calling me RECKLESS?"

Steven once again tried, "Let's build bridges, not walls!"

"I'm stating a fact," countered Sapphire. Small formations of ice were now forming at the hem of her dress, like miniature ice bergs. "You've had no regard for the future of your actions all day."

"WHAT?!" The air around Ruby wavered with intense heat. Steven worriedly took a step back, fearful of catching the full blast of her anger. "How can you say that when you've had no regard for the PRESENT all day?! This whole time, you've kept to yourself, not bothering to tell us what we should do!"

"Guys - "

"Would it have mattered?" The frost around Sapphire spread out. Delicate designs of white and blue covered the tiles of the floor and wall. At Ruby's feet, the frost stopped short as if afraid to continue. "You haven't listened to me or Steven all day."

"Hey - "

"Are you deaf?! I literally just said that you haven't said ANYTHING all day!"

"Um - "

"You're contradicting yourself."

"YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE."

 _"We_

 _Are the Crystal - "_

"STEVEN!" Ruby and Sapphire both rounded on Steven. Chunks of ice and tongues of fire rose from their feet in sudden furious blasts. Steven jumped back immediately.

There was a low rumble behind the ornate door, just loud enough for Ruby and Sapphire to pause their bickering and hold their breath. The ice and fire ceased their spreading when small vibrations ran through the floor. Steven listened closely - another rumble here, a snarl there, and then silence.

Then, suddenly, something with incredible force was obliterating the walls around them. Steven yelped as stone and dust erupted and burst. Ruby let out a small exclamation, while even Sapphire flinched.

The Mother Centipeetle towered over them. Thirty feet tall, with jaws like a razor and a mane of wild white hair. A single green eye stared down at them while her many legs wriggled and scuttled. She let out a warbled roar and dove for them with open, snapping jaws.

Ruby and Sapphire both jumped out of her path, and her jaws went digging into the stone of the floor...and around Steven, who let out a cry of surprise when he realized that he was now trapped in the mouth of the Mother Centipeetle.

He hardly heard Ruby and Sapphire cry his name. The inside of the Mother Centipeetle's mouth was hot and humid. The only light was coming from her large green eye that Steven had no choice but to hold onto. Every now and then, a drop of acid would land on his skin and burn him with sharp pain. To add to the discomfort, he could feel the Mother Centipeetle's mouth moving.

He could feel the Mother Centipeetle snarl, and then he was suddenly being pushed out of her jaws. He went falling through the air and landed on the hard floor below. The Mother Centipeetle was still towering over him, but she turned away a moment later.

He hardly had time to do anything - call for Ruby and Sapphire, take in his surroundings, get to his feet - before he noticed the miniature Centipeetles circling him. They chirped and warbled and scuttled closer to Steven as if he were a new treat.

One of them pounced forward and latched onto Steven's backpack. Steven yelped and spun around, quickly enough for the Centipeetle to lose its hold and go flying into one of its siblings. The two were knocked back, and, thinking quickly, Steven grabbed the tail of another. It was surprisingly light, so he threw it at another Centipeetle, and then did the same to another. He made sure to dodge the jets of acid they directed at him and their jaws that snapped at him.

He only realized after a few minutes that they were steadily multiplying around him. A dozen became two dozen, then more. They finally seemed to come up with the idea of attacking him all at once, because they were all crouching and glaring up at him.

Steven squeezed his eyes shut, thinking, 'Alas, poor Steven...'

Suddenly, something was wrapped around his chest, and he was being pulled through the air. Whoever (or whatever) was holding him flipped in the air, and they landed somewhere else. Steven was dropped to the ground in an upside-down heap. In his disoriented vision, Steven could see a tall figure before him, a pair of arms swinging and punching, knocking Centipeetles away. The hands wrapped around one Centipeetle and pulled it apart, poofing it instantly.

Steven flipped himself right-side-up and looked up at his savior.

It was a woman, about three times Steven's height, lean and built and standing in front of him to shield him from the incoming Centipeetles. From behind, Steven could tell that she had a cubic black afro and reddish-brown skin, and was dressed in a sort of bodysuit. Most of her suit was black, but her right leg was red. As her hands moved, Steven saw, in either palm of her one-finger black gloves, two red Gems. One had a triangular cut while the other had a square one.

After several seconds of staring in bewilderment, Steven finally managing to sputter out, "Garnet?"

The Mother Centipeetle finally noticed them. She scuttled to them - the middle of the Temple was a sort of arena with dozens of balconies up the walls - and snarled. Green acid flew from her jaws.

Garnet finally turned to Steven. Three eyes - left blue, right red, middle on her forehead purple - stared down at him.

Garnet bent down and took Steven into her arms. In a smooth, gentle voice, she said, "Trust me."

Then, just as the Mother Centipeetle came down at them, Garnet tossed Steven into the air. While Steven was at the peak of his height, Garnet swung her fist back and brought it smashing into the Mother Centipeetle's jaw. Caught off-guard, she fell away from the balcony to the floor below. Dust erupted from her crashing body.

Garnet caught Steven when he came back down. Steven wrapped his arms around her middle when she leaped forward, swiftly falling to the floor below. She landed on the Mother Centipeetle's head, emitting another snarl, and did one last flip midair before landing back down.

Once on the floor, she set Steven down. "This should only take a minute."

Then she turned from him and pulled her arms up to her chest. Her Gems flashed, and Sapphire and Ruby's weapons appeared. From wrist to elbow were Ruby's red gauntlets, and on her knuckles glittered Sapphire's blue knuckledusters. Garnet flexed her arms, and in another brilliant flash, they turned into two heavy gauntlets that covered either hand finger-to-elbow.

The Mother Centipeetle finally recovered. She rounded on Garnet and spat a jet of steaming green acid in her direction. Garnet simply held up a gauntlet, deflecting the spray easily.

The Mother Centipeetle swung her head at Garnet, who simply side-stepped it and jumped onto her tail. She ran up the Mother's body easily, hardly slipping in her descent to the Mother's head. She grabbed onto the white tufts of hair, and when the Mother Centipeetle reared back, Garnet jumped upwards. She poised herself to aim directly at the Mother's Gem and came back down -

\- and the Mother caught her in her mouth.

Only for a moment, luckily. The Mother Centipeetle's black jaws clamped shut, and Garnet was trapped. Then, the Mother paused, and Garnet was holding her jaws apart with just her legs. Garnet used this to her advantage to lean down and grab a hold of the Mother Centipeetle's Gem. She pulled.

POOF!

The Mother's body turned into a momentary cloud of green dust. Garnet landed on her feet with the round green Gem in her gauntlet. A red Bubble appeared around it, and Garnet sent it away.

Garnet rolled her shoulders afterwards, and lifted a hand to her face. Reflective shades appeared on her face and obscured her eyes from view.

Garnet finally approached Steven and stared down at him. She wasn't frowning, but she wasn't smiling, her full lips set into a neutral line.

Steven blinked once, then twice, then looked down at his hand. He put on a sheepish smile and stuck it out to Garnet. "Hi. I'm Steven."

Garnet stared at his hand silently. Steven considered pulling it back, but stopped when he saw a small smile appear on Garnet's lips. Instead of shaking his hand, Garnet interlocked their fingers together. Steven could feel the cool touch of Sapphire's Gem against his palm. She sang underneath her breath,

"We'll always save the day.

And if you think we can't..."

Steven's face split into a beaming smile. He finished the verse in an awestruck whisper, "We'll always find a way."

Hisses and warbled snarls sounded behind Garnet, making her frown once more and turn to see what the problem was. The remaining Centipeetles were scuttling to them - probably not happy with the death of their Mother. They were soon surrounded.

"Uh..." Steven looked up at Garnet. "Any ideas?"

Garnet gave a single nod and bent down to him. She picked him up with her hands and lifted him to her afro. He sat down - it was surprisingly sturdy - as Garnet lifted up her gauntlets once more. "You're going to want to hold on."

* * *

"THE TWO-TEAM HAS RETURNED!"

Opal had been sitting with her legs crossed on the sofa, meditating to pass the time. She looked up when she heard Steven's voice and grinned at what she saw. Steven was sitting atop Garnet, who had her arms folded over her chest. Steven had a grin stretching from ear-to-ear on his face.

"Steven! And Garnet!" Opal stood to her feet with her hands clasped together. "How did it go?"

"It was awesome," cried Steven. "We were a great team!"

"Really?" Opal put two hands on her hips and crossed her other arms. A brow raised on her forehead. "You guys usually don't work well together."

There was just a split second when the neutral line on Garnet's lips wavered into a distressed frown. Then, suddenly, she was engulfed in bright red light, much to Steven's concern. Her silhouette split into two red and blue blurs that shot out in either direction. Steven went falling to the floor with a surprised cry.

Ruby sat up from the floor and sulkily stated, "We didn't. Sapphire was being uncooperative, as usual, and - "

"The mission is done and we have the Centipeetle's Gem." Sapphire lifted herself to her feet. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

Steven put his cheeseburger backpack down and smiled up at Opal. "Are the Tuesday Tacos ready?"

Opal's content smile fell instantly into a confused frown. Her brows knit together. "The what?"

Sudden beeping emitted from the kitchen, garnering everyone's attention. On the stovetop, various pans were lifting thick black smoke into the air from their smoking contents. The smell of burning food wafted everywhere in seconds. The fire alarm was blaring in warning.

"AGH!" Opal went running to the kitchen with her hands dug into her wild white locks. "¡NO! MIS PRECIOSOS SUAVES CONCHAS!"

"Okay, so…" Steven rocked back and forth on his heels sheepishly. He grinned at Ruby and Sapphire. "I have a few more questions about fusion. Is that okay?"

Ruby and Sapphire turned to each other. Ruby sighed, but nevertheless replied, "Sure, go ahead."

Steven reached into his backpack and pulled out a small notepad. He flipped it open and began to read aloud, "Question one of two-hundred-and-fifty: If one of the Gems is lactose-intolerant and the other is not, is the resulting fusion lactose-intolerant or not? Explain."


	11. The Thorn

"This is it."

Steven looked around the area. Today was a bit gray, the sky a blank slate with no shining sun to see. The area they were in was around the base of one of the cliffs overlooking Beach City from the west. Stones and boulders dotted the area, covered in ages of soft green moss. That was hardly the most prominent thing, however - that went to the bushes. Everywhere, in between boulders and up the walls of stones, they ranged from the size of Steven's hand to his height. They held small black buds in their teardrop-shaped leaves. The ground was black, too, dark, soft dirt that shifted underneath his feet like mulch.

Behind him, Ruby sighed as she looked around. "These flowers were planted by Rose Quartz. This is the one place of hers that she always wanted humans to stay away from."

Opal grimaced as she plucked a bud from a bush and held it in her palm. "They're a mess without her."

"Well then," sniffled Steven. "We'll just have to - to - " He sneezed suddenly, and sniffled again. When he spoke, his voice was comig more out of his nose than his mouth. "We'll jus haf ta take care ah dem."

Opal sighed and put a hand to his clammy forehead. Steven pulled away, but not fast enough to escape Opal's verdict. "I knew your fever hadn't broken yet. You should go home."

"Absoluthely nah!" Steven took a deep breath - Opal flinched as the flatulent sound his nose made - and said, "Ah am going ta halp you guyth to-ay."

Ahead, Sapphire droned, "We have a lot of work to do."

A tall chain-link fence was guarding the small garden from intruders. In the middle of the fence was a small wooden sign. It was cracked and faded with age, and the words "Please Stay Out" were hardly distinguishable. In some parts of the fence, holes had been cut out to make entry inside, and some had been dug into the ground underneath.

Steven made a sort of 'harumph' sound and crossed his arms over his chest. He sniffled again. "Well tha's rood."

"And stupid." Ruby gestured around them, and in a genuinely confused voice, continued, "I mean, it's just a bunch of flowers. There's nothing here. Did they seriously just tear up the fence because they could? Why would you ruin a perfectly good fence?"

"We're here to take care of that." Opal turned around and lifted up a sizable boulder into her arms. With only a small amount of effort, she planted it atop one of the holes under the fence. "Rose wanted this place secluded, and so help me, this place will be secluded! More rocks!"

The four of them spent around an hour carrying and dragging rocks to block the fence. Opal took care of the particularly large boulders that took up large chunks of the fence. Ruby took care of the smaller ones, while Sapphire went to blocking every open crevice with small stones. Steven...TRIED to help. Really, he did. He took a few stones and stuck them into open spaces, but other than that, he was clearly having a hard time. His movements were sluggish, his eyes drooping, and every now and then he'd stop "to recharge his energy", IE because his headache was becoming worse. The Gems at first insisted that he just sit this one out, but nothing they said could hinder him, so they stopped after the tenth time.

"Alright!" Opal rolled back her shoulders when the work was finally done. "This will keep humans out for sure!"

The wall of rocks and stones now towered a good three feet over the fence and about four feet out from it. It would be impossible for someone to come in through, under, or over the fence.

Steven pumped a fist into the air. Well, he more or less just pumped it up an inch before exhaustively letting it swing back down. "Woo! We...We did eh! Wooooooo..." Steven reached out a hand to lean against a rock. He pulled back in shock a moment later - he had put his hand right on a thorny stem wrapped around the surface. He groaned.

"Alright, mister." Hands were then lifting him into the air, and he was soon cradled in soft arms. "You're going home."

"Opaaaal," whined Steven. He tried squirming, but it was a feeble attempt. "I don' need ta be caheed!"

"Too bad - you're being carried." Opal turned back to Sapphire and Ruby and waved them forward. "Come on, let's get him home so we can doctor him."

* * *

The pillow in front of Steven's face pulled away, and he squinted in the invading light. He could see Sapphire's face through the little window now made. Steven was swaddled in three wool blankets, stuffed under a mountain of pillows and cushions, and had a steamer directed at him. The only part of his body visible to the outside was his nose and eyes. It was all in the attempt to finally get his fever to break.

"Alright, let me see."

Sapphire stepped out of sight and was replaced by Opal. She reached a hand out and touched Steven's slick forehead. She pursed her full lips. "Hm...still a bit warm. Let's keep you in there for a little longer."

Steven tried to speak, but it was only a muffled rumble. Opal pulled the pillow over his mouth away. "What?"

"I said can you keep the pillow off of my eyes?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Opal reached around Steven and lifted up a pillow on the mound next to him. Underneath was a familiar red face that blinked up at her. "How you doing, Ruby?"

"Toasty," was her only reply. In her personal cocoon of pillows and blankets, she shuffled closer to Steven. She was trying to lend a helping hand in heating him up enough, as was the normal procedure.

"How much longer do I have to stay in here?" sighed Steven. "Don't we have work to do?"

"We always have work to do," said Opal. She pressed a finger onto his exposed nose. "But we're putting it aside until you feel better. Okay..." Opal picked up her book titled 'WHAT TO DO WHEN YA BABY IS SICK' and flipped it open to the fever section. "Alright, we've got you swaddled..." She tapped a hand on the frog-shaped steamer. "We've got the steamer..." She looked up at Steven. "Do you want any more soup?"

Steven groaned and furrowed deeper into his blankets. "Nooooo!"

"Seriously, Opal," Ruby spoke up. "We gave him so much it started coming out of his nose."

"Right." Opal hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it looks like we did all of the steps except for this one: 'When the other steps are completed, make ya baby feel good. Give 'em some motherly affection!' Okay." Opal put the book down and reached out of sight. Not a second later, Sapphire's face had pulled up in front of Steven. "Sapphire, give him a kiss. That calmed him down when he was younger."

Sapphire's face came closer, her lips pursed out to press against his forehead, but Steven pulled back out of reach. "Nooooo! Don't kiss me!"

Opal frowned and sternly told him, "This is for your health, Steven. Be still."

She pushed Sapphire closer, but Steven ducked down and out of sight. "It's not that! If you kiss me, you'll get sick, too!"

"No, I won't," said Sapphire. She was still dangling in Opal's grasp.

"You're just saying that!"

While Steven was still deep inside his warm cocoon, the pillows around him shifted with movement. A moment later, in the darkness, Ruby's face appeared through one of the walls. Gently, she told him, "Steven, really. We can't get sick."

Steven's eyes shot up in surprise. He sat upright so that he was looking at Sapphire and Opal through his window once again. "Really?"

Sapphire took advantage of his reappearance to quickly peck his forehead. She moved out of Opal's hold back onto the floor.

Opal sighed and said, "Really. We aren't bothered by germs and viruses and whatnot."

"So, like...You guys are immune to everything?"

"Everything," Ruby confirmed from somewhere out of his sight. Then, something poked him in the side, causing Steven to squeak. "We're not fragile and squishy like humans. We did survive through the plague, you know."

Steven was about to ask another question ("Does that mean you guys don't get food poisoning?"). But then he realized what Ruby had said. "The plague? Wasn't that, like, a gazillion years ago?"

It was Sapphire who broke the ensuing silence. She turned her head to Opal and instructed, "Top shelf."

Opal nodded and stood to her toes. She walked to a pair of cabinets on the wall beside the couch and pulled them open. After a moment of investigating, she took out a thick black scrapbook, blew the dust off of it, and returned to kneeling before Steven. She flipped the book so that it faced him and opened the glossy pages.

Inside were pages upon pages of photographs of the Crystal Gems - color, black and white, beige, clear, blurry. There was black-and-white Sapphire, wearing a feathery cap and sparkling dress, leaning against a brick wall with a furry white shawl draped over her elbows. There was beige Ruby in a military officer's uniform, holding ten injured soldiers above her head, her mouth open in a war cry. There was faded-color Opal in a long, flowery dress, twirling in the middle of an open field with her long white hair flying around in the breeze. There was Rose Quartz, standing atop a giant brick wall with dozens of other humans, their hands raised in fists and their mouth open in shouts.

Steven ooh'd and ah'd at every image. "I didn't know you guys were that old! You must be, like..." He tried to come up with a number, but eventually just cried, "SOOOOO old!"

Ruby snorted when Opal turned the page and pointed down at one image. It was all four of the Crystal Gems in 19th century clothing, throwing boxes into the ocean from the side of a wooden ship. "Remember the Coffee Revolt of '93? That was GREAT."

Sapphire reached over to point at another photo. It was once again all the Crystal Gems. They were hovering a few feet above the ground in a hot air balloon basket. A rope tied the basket to a single pole. "The world's first air balloon."

Opal chuckled and pointed at the image directly underneath. They were all still in the air balloon basket, except it was now almost sideways. The rope was missing and the trees in the background were bent. You could hardly see the blurry faces of horror they wore. "The world's first MISSING air balloon. Oh!"

Opal tapped on an aged piece of parchment. Graphite silhouettes of the Gems could be seen, stretching, posing, and jumping. "Remember when that artist wanted to draw us? What was his name, Leonard Vicky?"

Opal went to turn another page. Steven had just hardly caught a glimpse of purple and white when Opal suddenly snapped the book close and quickly said, "So yeah, we've been around quite a while!"

Steven hummed thoughtfully. "So...Gems don't get sick? Or age?"

"Nope!" Opal put a hand to his forehead once more. "You're feeling cooler. How do you feel?"

Steven paused. He still had a bit of a headache, albeit a small one, and his throat had a burning tickle to it. His body still felt sorely tired, too, like he had just crawled out of bed. More than anything, he wanted to take a long, quiet nap.

"I feel great!" he proclaimed.

He started squirming so that the pillows encasing him fell away. Ruby stepped out of the nest while Opal waved her hands at Steven. "Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy."

"Really!" Steven shed the last wool blankets and held his arms out victoriously. Luckily, he nose was no longer stocked up, so he was speaking normally. "I'm fine."

"Mm-hm..." Opal hummed. Her gaze was scrutinizing.

"You're still out of commission for now," stated Ruby. "We want to be absolutely sure."

Steven's smile dropped. "But - "

"No 'but's unless you're sitting on them!"

Ruby, Sapphire, and Opal turned away from him and headed to the Warp Pad. On the way, Opal placed the scrapbook back into the cabinet. Once they were all standing on it, Opal told Steven, "We'll be back at around sunset! If you start feeling bad again, you take a nap, you hear me?"

"Okay," Steven replied.

The Crystal Gems bid him farewell and disappeared into the light a moment later. Steven sighed and looked around the mess of pillows and blankets. He turned off the steamer and bent down to start cleaning up. As he did so, he glanced down at his hand and paused. He stood back upright and turned his hand so that his palm faced upwards.

In the middle of his hand was a single black dot, almost like a spot of ink. That's what he thought it was. He licked his thumb and went to rub away at it, but paused when he saw that it wasn't going to come off of his skin...because it WAS his skin. It must have been a mole, right? There was no way it was anything else...Then he thought back to the garden. He had meant to lean against a rock and accidentally put his palm on a thorn. A thorn belonging to the black flowers.

Steven paused as he kept looking at his hand. He quickly walked over to the kitchen and pulled open one of the drawers for a band-aid. He peeled off the papers and stuck it over the black dot.

"Gems don't get sick," he told himself. As if to prove himself wrong, a sudden sneeze wracked through his body. He groaned at the pound of his headache. "This is going to be hard...and gross."

* * *

The bell above the door of the Big Donut rang as Steven pushed the door open. From behind the counter, Sadie smiled at him in greeting while Lars kept bobbing his head to the music blasting from his headphones.

"Hello, Sad-EEE!" Another sneeze shot through Steven, and Sadie jumped in surprise. He rolled his shoulders back and said again, "Ha-ho, Sa-ee."

"Um...Hi." Sadie paused as she looked Steven up and down. "Are you okay, Steven?"

He was notably paler than usual, and his eyes were clearly bloodshot. His entire body seemed to be sagging to the floor. He was blinking a bit too slowly.

"Ah'm fine." Steven sniffled, and his voice was clearer when he spoke again. "I'd like a donut, please."

"Riiiiight. Well, you're going to have to wait just a second." Sadie pointed down at the glass cases on either side of the cash register. "The fryer's been on the fritz all morning. We're only making a batch now." She turned to Lars. "Lars, go check on the donuts."

Lars continued to just bob his head to the music. Sadie sighed and leaned forward. She grabbed both sides of the headphones and pulled them from his ears before letting them go so that they smacked against his head. Lars yelped and scowled at her. Sadie just smiled sweetly and gestured to the back of the store. Lars grumbled, but nevertheless stood from his seat and stormed to the back.

"Anyway!" Sadie reached underneath the counter for a water bottle and took a gulp. "I've been meaning to tell you. This year at the Beachapalooza there were a lot of people signed up but then that storm came through and the list..."

Her voice faded from Steven's ears. He was looking at his palm once again. From either side of the band-aid, black was branching out like frost. He also noticed that, rather than feeling better due to exposure to fresh air, he was feeling progressively WORSE. His headache was pounding harder, and he was both very warm and fighting down a shiver.

"...Steven?"

Steven looked back up at Sadie, who was looking at him with confused eyes. "Are you SURE you're okay?"

He never got the chance to answer, because the door opened again, and in stepped Ronaldo and Peedee Fryman. Peedee was notably sullen, while Ronaldo was chipper as ever.

"Hello, donut employee," Ronaldo greeted safely. He held up a slip of paper and handed it to her. "Dad has sent us here to pick up his order."

Peedee mumbled something under his breath. It sounded a bit like 'don't see why we can't fry our OWN donuts'.

Sadie nodded and called to the back, "Lars, come on! This is the first order we've gotten all year!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Lars emerged from the back a moment later with two trays of freshly-fried donuts in hand. He rolled his eyes and scoffed, "They're not even glazed yet. Don't get what the rush is." Lars's eyes glanced over at Ronaldo and glared for just a second before he turned away.

Sadie sighed and smiled apologetically at Ronaldo. "Sorry. This is going to take a minute." She turned to Steven. "Same goes for you. Unless you just want yours plain."

Steven, who had once again glanced down at his hand, instinctively replied "Sure!" without really hearing what she said.

"Oh. Um...okay. C'mon, Lars."

Lars picked up one of the donuts with some tongs and placed them inside a paper bag. He rolled the top down and held it out for Steven. However, when Steven reached out to take it, he dropped the bag and reeled backwards. "Eugh!"

Steven looked down at his extended hand, and his eyes bulged. The black color had seeped far past his band-aid. Now it was creeping up his fingers and towards his wrist. He wiggled his fingers, and it tickled painfully, like his hand was falling asleep the more he moved it.

He heard a gasp, and a moment later, there was a light flashing in his face. He winced, and he heard Ronaldo's voice shouting, "Freaky! Hold still!"

He must have been taking photographs for his blog (Keep Beach City Weird). Usually, when he did, Steven happily posed, but he wasn't feeling particularly up to it right now. He dashed for the door, leaving his donut bag behind, even as Sadie cried out, "Steven?!"

* * *

Steven ran until it hurt too much for him to continue. He stopped at the edge of the boardwalk and took a minute to catch his breath. He looked back down at his arm and ripped off the band-aid. He could actually see the black color spreading now, slowly inching past his wrist down his forearm. The place where the thorn had stabbed him was a small black bulge jutting from his skin.

"This is weird! And gross!" Steven pulled himself upright and shook his head, despite the protesting that his headache gave him. "But I'm not sick! Gems don't get sick! Besides!" He put on a confident smile. "There are a ton of people in Beach City - at least twenty! One of them is bound to know what to do!" He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "But I'm going to need a ride."

"Hey, Steven!"

Steven turned when he heard his name. Jenny was standing on the curb of the street. Lion stood beside her, licking his paw. "I caught your pink pet rummaging through our garbage again!"

Steven grinned. "A ride."

* * *

No one knew what to do.

He figured that he should seek out someone older and inexperienced, so he went to the Fish Pizzeria to speak to Nanafua. She tried some remedies - including but not limited to smearing his arm in fish oil, rolling it in uncooked dough and massaging it, and having him hold a flower - until she eventually threw her arms into the air and told him she honestly had no idea what she was doing.

He eventually asked Lion to take him to Connie's. Unfortunately, Dr. Maheswaran was not home, and all Connie could think to do was call the police. Steven refused, but when Connie insisted, he crept out and rode Lion back into Beach City.

He eventually resorted to just walking around town and asking for help at random. This person said that he should put it on some ice. This person said that it was probably an allergic reaction that should be catered to. He asked Onion for help, too, but quickly ran away when Onion simply held up a saw for him.

As time went on, he only became worse. His headache was pounding. It was a pain to blink. The blackness crept past his elbow and crept to his shoulder.

It eventually got to the point where, as he rode Lion back to his Room, he lost his grip and tumbled into the sand. He yelped on impact and groaned in pain afterwards. Lion trotted back and nudged Steven's head with his nose. He chuffed in Steven's face, warm breath ghosting over his cheeks.

"Gems...don't get...ugh..." Steven raised his head up to Lion. "Do you have any idea what I'm supposed to do?"

* * *

The lights of the Warp Pad faded away as the Crystal Gems returned to Steven's Room. Sapphire was covered in soft white feathers. Opal had a giant egg tucked underneath her arm. Ruby was dressed up like a small bird, with feathers on her arms like wings and more stuck into her headband.

Opal sent the Bubbled Gem in her hands away to Ruby's Room. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Ruby scowled, and the feathers all over her body burned away to black dust. "Super comical." She cupped a hand around her mouth. "Steven?"

As they stepped off of the Warp Pad, Opal called, "I can make you some giant egg soup if you're still feeling bad."

She frowned when she saw that he was not in his bed in his loft. She peeked her head down the small hallway to the bathroom, but the light was off. "Huh." She did one last look around. "Where'd he go?"

From the kitchen, Sapphire's voice rose a single octave to call, "He left a note."

Ruby and Opal joined her in front of the refrigerator. A single piece of paper was held by a magnet to the front, and on it was a single black eighth note. Ruby hummed. "He did."

Opal reached out and plucked it off of the fridge. (In the process, she forgot about the egg underneath her arm and let it drop to the floor and shatter.) She flipped it over. There was handwriting on the back, but it was messy and lopsided, as if Steven had written with his left hand instead of his right. Opal managed to read, " 'Gone to the garden with Lion. Don't worry about me.' "

She looked up at the Gems in surprise. Not a moment later, Ruby groaned, "I'm worried."

* * *

They took the Warp Pad nearest to the garden. The sky had become cloudy instead of blank, and although the setting sun was filtering through the dark masses, it was still largely concealed. The garden was eerily quiet - not a single bug was chirping.

Ruby cupped a hand around her mouth and called, "Steven? Hello?"

"Steven?" Opal bent down to a bush and pulled the leaves apart. "I thought we told you to stay home."

Something suddenly emerged from behind a boulder. Opal jumped in surprise and Ruby instinctively summoned her weapon. Sapphire simply turned to see what it was.

It was Lion, his pink color looking bizarre and out-of-place in the bleakness of the garden. He blinked at them, then lifted a paw to rub at his nose.

Ruby sighed and let her gauntlets disappear. She walked up to Lion and cupped his muzzle, causing him to stop rubbing his nose to look at her. "Alright, Fluffy. Where's Steven? We know he's here."

Lion blinked at her again, and pulled away. He trotted away and out of sight, further into the garden.

Ruby gestured for the others to follow. As they continued through the garden, pushing past bushes and squeezing between boulders, they continued to call. "Steven?" "Come out, Steven." "Are you mad at us or something?"

Lion eventually brought them to two boulders so close together that they almost touched. He jumped over them and landed on the other side. Ruby and Sapphire both bent down to squeeze through the tiny gap, while Opal leaped over like Lion. Once on the other side, they looked around to see where the pink feline had taken them.

Their reaction were unanimous and immediate.

"STEVEN!"

In the middle of a small clearing was Steven, laying halfway on his belly, one arm tucked underneath his head while the other was stretched limply outwards. His entire right arm was black, and more was partially peeking out of the collar of his T-shirt. The rest of his skin was almost stark white and slick with sweat. He was breathing heavily through his mouth.

The Gems were standing over him immediately. Lion circled around them to Steven's other side.

Ruby tucked her hands underneath Steven's armpits and pulled him so that he was sitting upright. His head lolled on his shoulders, eyelids lazily opening to reveal bloodshot and tired eyes.

"Steven, what's wrong?" Ruby demanded in a high-pitched panic. "What happened to you?"

Lion laid down behind Steven, and Ruby propped him up against Lion's soft side. Steven flexed the fingers on his right hand, and Opal reached out to take it. The small black bulge was still there.

"Got...pricked..." Steven wheezed out. "Thorn..."

It took a moment for all of the Gems to realize what he meant. The realization was almost sickening to feel - No wonder Rose had put up the fence...

Steven swallowed loudly. "Lion...took me here to - "

He didn't get to finish. He suddenly broke down into a fit of wet coughing, almost doubling over. Sapphire reached out and put one hand on his back and the other over his mouth because he was too weak to cover it himself. Finally, he stopped, and leaned back against Lion.

Sapphire looked down at her palm. Gray spittle lay on the surface of her black glove.

Steven swallowed again. "I don't know...don't know..."

He said no more, remaining immobile on Lion's side.

There was a single moment in which all of the Gems were still with shock, staring at the sickening sight before them.

It was only a moment. Ruby rounded to Opal and Sapphire and demanded in a low voice, "We need to treat him." In a rumbling growl, as her form wavered with heat, she added, "NOW."

Opal raised her hands to the Gem on her forehead. It shined brightly, and a moment later, she pulled something out of it. It was a small blanket, which she quickly swaddled Steven in. His body was limp as she wrapped the blanket around it, and he just lazily blinked at her once she was done. She held him in outstretched arms, waiting, as her blue eyes brimmed with tears.

"Give him here!"

Opal obediently handed him down to Ruby. The shorter red Gem kept Steven's feet on the ground while she held him up with her arms. Heat continued to spill off of her, and she gripped Steven tightly to get him to catch as much of it as possible.

"C'mon, Steven." When Steven did not move or say anything, Ruby grit her teeth and held him tighter. The few blades of grass around her feet began to smolder. "COME ON!"

Steven finally moved, but it was just squirming. He whined as he tried to pull away from Ruby. His white skin closest to her was turning pinkish red from heat. It was starting to make his eyes water.

"Stop!" Sapphire reached out and tugged Steven away from Ruby. "You're burning him!"

"Well, what are we supposed to do?!" demanded Ruby. Steam was beginning to rise from her dark eyes.

Sapphire looked down at Steven silently. She pulled him closer, her arms embracing him securely, and bent her head down to him. She pressed her lips to his brown curls without a word.

They stayed like that for a long moment, until Ruby finally threw her hands into the air and cried, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Sapphire pulled away from Steven to cry back, "I'm trying to make him feel good!" More to herself than to Ruby, she whispered under her breath, "I don't know what else to do!"

Ruby made a sound between a groan and a whine and dug her fingers underneath her head band into her downy hair. The waves of heat coming off of her were sporadic now, rising and falling with no rhythm. Finally, she pulled her fingers into fists in an attempt to look determined. It failed - the look of frustrated panic on her face was still present.

"We have other things we can do," she declared. "We can take him back to the Temple and make him soup, right?! O-or we can get him some medicine! Y-Yeah! We have to do that! Opal, pick up Steven! Let's go!"

She did a dash for the exit of the clearing, but abruptly skidded to a stop when she saw that Opal was not moving. To say that Ruby was not in the mood to argue with her leader was an understatement. She growled and shouted, "OPAL! COME ON!"

When Opal still did not answer, Ruby stormed back to her. She was about to tell Opal that there was nothing else to do, they needed to go NOW, but stopped when she saw the tall Gem's face.

Opal's stark blue eyes were wide and unblinking as they stared down at Steven. Her lips were parted, but no sound came out. Her arms hung loosely at her sides. The only part of her that was moving were the tears falling down her cheeks. Other than those, she was as still and as silent as a statue.

"No." Ruby shook her head, slowly at first, then vehemently. "No, no, no!" She reached out for Opal's arm and pulled on it as hard as she could. "NO, Opal! Not now! Get it together!" When she still received no response of any kind, her nails dug into Opal's arm as she screeched, "OPAL!"

"Stop it!" Sapphire pushed Ruby with just enough force for her to release Opal's arm. With her gloves fists clenched together, Sapphire told her, "Stop yelling at her! You're not helping anything!"

"Well, what are we supposed to do?!" It was probably meant as a taunting demand, but it came out more like a desperate plea.

"I...I..." Sapphire grit her teeth and raised a hand to her cheek. "I don't know! I don't..." A single tear ran down the middle of her face and over her lips. "I don't know!"

"We have to do SOMETHING!" cried Ruby. The heat waves were dying down, and her anger was subsiding to desperation. The tears that had vanished into steam before were now falling down her cheeks and off of her jaw. "We can't just...I can't just let him..."

She took a glance at Steven, and that was the last straw. Seeing him weak and immobile, Ruby quickly turned away and brought her fingers back to her hair. She slowly sank down to a crouch, trembling. Angry gibberish turned into frustrated whimpers.

So that was all they could do. Opal was frozen. Sapphire was lost. Ruby was broken.

In the haze of dizzying confusion, Steven was just able to make out what was happening. He wanted to say something. He wanted to tell them that everything was going to be fine, but they had to pull it together. But he was too weak now - even breathing was a labor.

In the midst of the scene, the clouds blocking the sun subsided just enough for a single weak ray of light to come down to the garden. It ran across the ground, as as it did, it passed over Steven's limp black hand. In its wake, the color faded away, revealing his usual tan skin, and faded back. Another ray passed over him and had the same effect.

Sapphire was the only one able to notice this. The tears falling over her lips stopped as she gave a soft gasp. To be sure, she looked into the future to see if it was true. It was.

She turned to Opal and Ruby and cried, "Sunlight! We have to get him into sunlight!"

Ruby, with her hands still on her head, turned to Sapphire with confusion written over her frustrated face. Opal's immobility stopped just enough for her to look down at Sapphire with furrowed brows.

"The sunlight will heal him! I just saw it!"

Ruby blinked at her once, then twice, then turned to Lion, who still had Steven propped against him. "Why did you bring him here?"

Lion, of course, said nothing, but he raised his head upwards. The Gems followed the direction. Up the cliff-side, above the garden, was the top peak. Sunlight was fading in and out there.

Before Sapphire and Ruby could so much as move, hands were lifting them up by their backs. With her eyes narrowed up at the cliff, Opal demanded in a low voice, "Get on the lion."

She dropped them on Lion's back and picked up Steven as she sat down as well. Lion stood to his feet - shaking for a moment under the sudden weight - and everyone took a hold.

With two arms securely cradling Steven, the other two holding onto Lion's side, Opal said, "Everyone hold on. Lion, go!"

She had thought that Lion was going to take them up the cliff-side, leaping and running up the steep slope, wind whipping around them, as they held on as tight as they could to the top.

Instead, Lion roared up a portal (Opal had forgotten he could do that) and leaped inside.

Opal made a sound similar to "WHOAOK" at the sudden jump. Ruby kept a grip on Lion's mane while Sapphire kept a grip on Ruby. The whipping wind and speeding colors of the portal were soon gone, and they were slamming back onto the ground not a moment later. Everyone sighed shakily.

They each climbed off of Lion and jogged up to the edge of the cliff they now stood on. Opal held Steven upwards to catch the rays of sun. She also dangled him over the cliff, and stepped back when Ruby and Sapphire tugged on her leggings.

And, just their luck, the dark clouds had once again obscured the sun's light. And judging by their thickness, they weren't moving anytime soon.

Sapphire gripped the strip of cloth going down her dress. Ruby cried, "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Her anger was replaced with surprise when Steven was suddenly right in front of her.

She took him from Opal as the four-armed giant woman glared venomously at the clouds. She brought her hands to both of her Gems and summoned her bow into her arms. "Give me just a second."

She pulled back the tight bowstring, and an arrow slowly materialized, bright blue and burning hot. She directed it at the clouds, aiming, and let it go.

It shot through the air in a blue blur. It disappeared into the dark mass of clouds, and a moment later, there was a sudden burst of light. A large chunk of clouds were blasted away to nothing. Sunlight poured through the opening, and Ruby quickly held Steven up to catch it.

The black color that had crept up to his neck almost drained back into his hand. Past his shoulder, then his elbow, then his forearm, all heading back to the small black bulge in his palm. Then, suddenly, it grew, spreading outwards and unfolding into a blossom. The petals of the resulting flower seemed to change color with every movement and glistened brightly. The wind picked up, and it was plucked away from Steven's palm and taken away in the breeze.

Soon after, Steven's tan skin came back in, his bloodshot eyes went white again, and he took in a deep breath of fresh air. He took a few more breaths, then looked down at the Gems.

He smiled sheepishly. "Hi."

Ruby dropped him from the air so that she could pull him into a bone-crushing hug. Sapphire hugged him from his other side, and Opal wrapped her arms around all three of them and lifted them into the air. To be honest, Steven once again couldn't breath, but didn't want to ruin the moment.

So instead, he chuckled and teased in a singsong voice, "You guys were worried about me~!"

Ruby pulled back just enough to glare at him. She raised a finger to point it at his face. "Boy, do NOT tease me right now."

Opal's relieved smile was replaced by an almost angry frown. She narrowed her eyes at Steven and sternly demanded, "I KNEW you weren't feeling better! Why did you keep this from us?"

Steven tried to think of a way to get out of it. His first idea was "I was GOING to tell you, but you guys had left!" Then he thought that maybe he would tell them that he wanted to go back to the garden and THEN he was pricked by a thorn. Then he remembered his father's saying of "Liars never get hired" and eventually just decided to tell the truth.

"Gems aren't supposed to get sick," he reminded them. "I thought I would tell myself not to."

Sapphire sighed. She pulled her arms away from his torso to put them on his cheeks. "Steven, you're still half-human. This is not going to be the last time that you get sick."

Ruby sternly added, "And do NOT hide it from us again!"

Steven was about to sheepishly promise not to, when Opal suddenly turned them. "Look! The flowers!"

The sunlight now free from the clouds had fallen to the garden below. Slowly, the dark color drained from the mulch-like soil to the bushes all around the boulders. Black buds bloomed, and soon, they were overlooking an expanse of multi-color blossoms. Each breeze was like a kaleidoscope effect, changing the colors and making them shimmer.

The Gems sighed contently at the beautiful sight before them. In a calm, serene voice, Opal stated, "Let's never come back here again."

The others calmly sighed back, "Agreed."


	12. The Beach Party

"Alright, alright! Keep it moving!"

Steven waved his arms forward like a traffic officer. The small worms around him chirped and gurgled as they crept forward in the sand. Most had already fled into the ocean, disappearing into the foamy waves. They were small things, probably the size of Steven's fist. They were orange-brown in color and the only things they had for faces were round toothless mouths.

The Gems had discovered the collections of eggs earlier that morning. They had mistaken them for rocks at first - they were heavy and black with rough, uneven textures. Then they started hatching, and the worms started to wriggle all over the place. They weren't deadly, per se, since the most they could do was nibble with their gums. Everyone agreed that they were probably the offspring of a Gem monster left on the beach. Gem monster-offspring didn't grow, so they were considered harmless enough to be guided into the ocean, where they seemed to be headed.

"Come on, come on," Steven kept waving them forward until they had all gone into the waves. Their small silhouettes disappeared into the blue water. When he turned, he saw that one was still left, curiously staring up at him. Steven put a hand on his hip and pointed behind him. "Get."

The worm let out an almost guilty chirp before following after his siblings.

Opal sighed and dusted off her hands. The drape of her top and her long white hair were both whipping around in the wind. The sun glinted off of her Gems, making Steven wince in their glare. "Well, at least that's taken care of." She turned to Sapphire. "Are you sure this won't cause us trouble?"

Sapphire paused a moment to kneel down into the water. A worm in her palms slithered out into the waves, and she stood upright. "The mother is unlikely to come here."

Ruby walked past them with her arms full of the empty eggshells left behind. She knelt down to another pod of them and started gathering them. Each one made a small _clink_ sound as they touched. "That still means there's a mother we have to take care of. We should get to it soon."

Steven watched as she shifted her arms to pick up more shells. "Why are you picking those up?"

"Because we don't want this beach swarming with people coming by to collect them. Or eat them." Under her breath, Ruby mumbled, "Why do humans always try to eat every pretty thing that they see?"

"We can take care of the mother when we find out how to," said Opal. She held a hand over her eyes to shield it from the sun's rays as she looked out over the horizon. "As for now - " She patted a hand over her belly. "I'm hungry."

Steven threw his hands into the air and cried, "Who's up for pizza?!"

Sapphire's reply was a reluctant hum, Ruby's a grumbled "sure", Opal's an enthusiastic "Cinnamon!"

Steven winked at them and gave them a quick thumbs-up. "I got us covered!" He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper. "Punch card~!" He took off for the direction of the pizzeria, calling over his shoulder, "See you guys at the Room!"

* * *

"Lars!"

The red-haired teen flinched when he heard the familiar voice calling his name. He could hear the tell-tale smacks of flip-flops against feet coming closer. He ducked his head down and stuck his hands further into his hoodie. He thought to himself, 'Maybe if I just act like he isn't there...'

"Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! La - !"

"WHAT?!"

Steven jumped back when Lars suddenly rounded on him when he was just a foot away. He almost went falling, but managed to keep his balance. The warm smile he had on his face was replaced with a concerned frown. "Are you okay?"

"I'm. Fine."

"...Okay, then!" Steven gestured to the door of the pizzeria. Hanging from the middle was a sign reading, _Come on in, we're open!_ "Are you going in?"

Lars scoffed and looked away. "I WAS. Not anymore."

"Why not? If you want..." He held up the card in his hand teasingly and sang, "We can share a punch card~."

When his hand touched the handle of the door, Lars suddenly reached out and grabbed it. "No!" He nodded his head at the restaurant and whispered, as if someone were listening, "Don't go in there today! Jenny's upset."

Steven curiously stood on his tip-toes to look inside the window. Inside, Nanafua, Kofi, and Kiki were tending to the restaurant, serving tables, taking orders, and cleaning up. Jenny, meanwhile, was seated at a booth with several empty cups all around her. It was hard to tell, but Steven thought that he could see Buck Dewey and Sour Cream sitting across from her. Jenny was waving her hands around angrily and shouting something unintelligible from the outside. She paused every now and then to take an angry gulp of her drink.

"What's wrong?" asked Steven.

Lars sighed as he hugged himself to the wall. He took a quick glance inside before ducking back out of sight. "I dunno. I think something went wrong with her birthday party."

"Well that reeks." Steven went back to his normal level and grinned encouragingly up at Lars. "We should go in to see if she's okay."

Lars scoffed again. "YOU can. I'm not going in there today."

"Why not?"

"People don't want you talking to them when they're upset. They won't like you if you do."

Steven looked him up and down. "Soooooooo you're just going to stand outside by yourself?"

"Yep."

Steven paused. "...Well, good luck with that." He swung the door to the pizzeria open. As the bell chimed with his arrival, he called out, "Good eve, Pizza family and eaters!"

"Steven," Lars hissed after him. He was already gone inside and out of earshot. Lars looked left, then right, then angrily huffed and swung the door open. He stormed inside sulkily.

Steven greeted Nanafua and Kiki, but made a beeline for the booth at the back. As he approached, he could hear was Jenny was saying in-between gulps of her drink. Buck and Sour Cream listened calmly all the while.

"...and I'm a good person, you know," cried Jenny. She continued to wave her arms around wildly. The drink and ice in her cup sloshed around with each movement. "I didn't deserve this! I didn't deserve nothin'!"

From across the table, Buck gently told her in his ever-serene voice, "You're a good person, Jenny."

"THANK you!" Jenny bit into her already-mangled straw. The cup made an empty slurping sound, causing Jenny to glower and pull back. She cupped a hand around her mouth and called, "KIKI! GET ME ANOTHER - Oh, hey, Steven."

Steven didn't so much as flinch, despite the fact that she had just screamed in his face. He instead smiled warmly and greeted, "Hey, Jenny." He turned to the boys. "Hello, Buck Dewey and Sour Cream."

Sour Cream gave a slow wave of his hand. Buck sent Steven a peace sign with his fingers and greeted, "Hello, Steven Universe."

Steven gestured behind him to Lars, standing at the counter. He had clearly been listening in, and blanched when he saw he'd been spotted. He span around to face the kitchen. "Lars told me about your party. You okay?"

Jenny sighed and leaned back in her seat. She crossed her arms over her chest and explained, "Everything I planned got canceled. No more dance floor, no more party games, no more food servers, no more DJ!"

Sour Cream held up his other hand. It was wrapped in bandages and held in a splint. Steven gasped in shock.

Jenny threw her hands into the air. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Nothing," said Buck. "You did nothing."

"You're so understanding, Buck." Jenny sighed again and cradled her chin in her hands. "I guess I'll just hang out with you guys tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, Jenny." Steven held up his punch-card. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"Just tell Kiki to get me another soda." Jenny crossed her arms over the tabletop and laid down on top of them. As Buck comfortingly patted her shoulder, she said in a muffled voice, "Extra bubbles."

Steven went to the counter, where Lars was still sulking. He read his order (two medium pizzas, one pepperoni, one half-cheese half-cinnamon) to Nanafua, and leaned against the wall as he waited. Lars was occasionally glancing over at the Cool Kids' table, but made no move to go join them.

Steven noticed him doing this pretty often. Sometimes, Buck, Sour Cream, and Jenny would be in the same place as Lars - the beach, the boardwalk, the Big Donut, wherever. And despite Lars casting looks at them, opening and closing his mouth as if wanting to say something, he always kept his distance and remained silent. The one time Steven had seen Lars talk to the Cool Kids, it was to tell a knock-knock joke...that he had to explain when they didn't get it. It wasn't like the Cool Kids were ignoring him. Jenny would occasionally offer some small-chat of sorts, and maybe Buck would ask him about his job, but the talk never went anywhere.

When Lars sent another look at the table, Steven finally spoke up, "Why don't you go over there? Jenny's the only one talking, anyway."

Lars surprisingly didn't scoff or snort at that. Instead, he just looked away from Steven and mumbled, "They don't want me over there."

"You don't know that. Here, let's go."

He took hold of Lars's hand and pulled him behind him, despite Lars's hisses of protest. He stopped resisting when they came into earshot of the Cool Kids, instead pursing his mouth shut. Jenny was still laying across the tabletop with her head in her arms. Sour Cream had set up his phone to play some sad violin music. Buck was leaning on the table with his chin placed over his intertwined hands.

As they approached, Steven greeted them enthusiastically yet again. Lars kept a foot behind him, as if ready to retreat at a moment's notice. "It's Steven Universe again. With his friend, Lars...Don't-Know-Last-Name."

Lars awkwardly waved a hand. "Hey."

He was given a wave by Sour Cream, a peace sign by Buck, and a muffled 'hello' from Jenny. Steven patted on Lars's pants leg, causing the teen to take a step away from him. "Lars here was just wondering if there was anything he could do to help."

Jenny lifted her head to look up at them with lidded brown eyes. "Not unless you can get a DJ, a food service, party games, and a location for a party in twenty-four hours." Jenny ducked her head back down. A moment later, she added, "Thanks anyway, though."

Though he remained silent, Steven turned to Lars with raised brows. _You can totally do that!_

Lars gave a toothy frown and shook his head vehemently. _No! No I cannot!_

Steven wiggled his eyebrows at him. _I can help!_

Lars raised one of his. _You can get ALL of that done?_

Steven nodded. _Me and the Gems!_ He darted his eyes to the Cool Kids. _They'd reeeeeeeally appreciate it!_

Lars looked between Steven and the Cool Kids with narrowed eyes. With his eyes still glowering, he nodded.

Steven winked. _Wink!_

Lars turned back to Jenny. He tapped her on the shoulder, then immediately reeled back with instant regret. Jenny didn't seem to mind, though, and just looked back up at him expectantly. Lars took one last look at Steven, and when he got an encouraging nod, he said, "I can help you put together a party, if you want."

Jenny rose a brow at his statement. She sat upright with her arms still folded over the table. Curiously, she asked, "You can do all of that?"

"Yeah, totally!" Lars chuckled. He had sweat drops the size of pin-balls rolling down his cheeks. "Just, uh...Leave everything to me and - " When Steven tapped him on the knee and shook his head at him, he sputtered, "Me. Leave everything to me and me."

Jenny hummed. "You don't have to do that. I don't want to dump a bunch of responsibilities on you. Plus, that's a lot of work to do in just a little time."

"But I want to," Lars assured her maybe a touch bit too quickly. He chuckled again and raised a hand to the back of his neck to rub there. "Really, it's okay. I can do it."

Jenny smiled warmly. She held up a hand at him, and it took Lars just a moment to realize what she meant. As he clapped his hand against hers, Jenny said, "Thanks, Lars! That's real sweet of you."

Sour Cream sent Lars an appreciative thumbs-up. Buck smiled just slightly so and awarded him with a mellow "Cool." Jenny continued to smile warmly. Then she went talking away as if she'd never had a meltdown over her party to begin with.

Nanafua called for Steven from the counter. As Steven went to pick up his order, he sent one last look at Lars. He wasn't looking at him, but he was nodding at whatever Jenny was saying. Steven smiled at the sight.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY

* * *

"You set up this party all by yourself?"

Lars nodded, causing Sadie to raise a brow at him. The two of them were heading out of the Big Donut together, locking the small shop behind them. Jenny had insisted that Lars bring whoever he wanted with him to the party. So, he had invited Sadie, and although she was a bit unsure at first, she eventually agreed. The party would be on/close to the beach, so Lars had decided to bring swimming trunks and a T-shirt with him to work that day. Sadie herself was wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit with a pair of shorts pulled over them.

"I got Steven's moms to help out," said Lars. He smiled cockily and chuckled, "Pretty sweet of me, huh?"

Sadie looked him up and down with lidded eyes. "Uh-huh..." She crossed her arms over her chest as they kept walking. "So Steven had nothing to do with this?"

Lars glanced down at her. He shut his eyes and held his hands behind his head. "Nope."

"...Right. Well, there it is."

Lars opened his eyes to see the scene laid out for Jenny's birthday party.

He stopped where he stood.

It was set up at the base of the cliff, right where the sand turned to soft grass. Two rectangular tables were set up side-by-side. One table had white plastic and foldable metal chairs set up, while the remaining had none. Each table was covered in red-and-white checkerboard tablecloths and had shimmering star-shaped confetti sprinkled over their tops. Balloons were tied to some centerpieces. Some read _It's a Girl!_ and _Happy Birthday_ in colorful letters across their shiny faces. Others were just simple party balloons with the name 'Jenny' written across in black marker. A small boombox was set up on the chairless table, and beside it, a cardboard box filled with colorful items that Lars assumed were party games and toys.

Steven was sprinkling more confetti onto the tables when he noticed them. He was dressed in a tank-top version of his signature T-shirt and denim shorts. He also had a cone-shaped party hat pulled over his head, and held two more atop a small cushion as he approached. "Good evening, lady and gent! Welcome to Jenny's party, here are your ceremonial hats."

Sadie took hers casually, while Lars suddenly took a gentle hold of Steven's arm and pulled him a small ways over. Steven just blinked up at him confusedly, while Lars spat out, "THIS is the party?!"

Steven nodded proudly. "Impressive, huh?" He put a hand under his opposite elbow and spoke like a refined gentleman, "I was trying to go for a fun, but not overpowering feeling, as if this were not a pressuring party but rather an inviting - "

"Steven!" Steven's curious frown returned once more. "THIS can't be the party! Where's the dance floor? Where's the food, and the DJ, and the party games?"

"Well." Steven galloped his foot against the ground, kicking up sand. "This is a dance GROUND. Opal and Ruby are taking care of the food, Sapphire's doing the music, and I got all the fun stuff we're going to need!" Steven turned the box full of items around. "Fun Stuff!" was written across it in bubbly letters.

"Noooooo!" Lars ran a hand down his face and growled. He waved his arms around at the scene. "We've got to get rid of this and set up something cooler before anyone shows up!"

Steven hummed. "That's going to be hard, considering everyone's already here."

"Hey, Lars!"

Lars blanched as he turned around to the source of the familiar voice. Jenny, Sour Cream, Buck, and several other teenagers, including Kiki, were approaching them. The pepperoni-and-mushroom-patterned Fish Pizza jeep was parked in the sand a few yards behind them, as well as a few other small vehicles. Buck and Sour Cream were both dressed in T-shirts and swimming trunks. Jenny was wearing a short blue-and-white striped dress over her swimsuit.

Jenny looked around the scene of the party. She nodded with a satisfied hum. "Homey. I like it." She turned back to Lars with a smile. "Thanks again for doing this."

Lars chuckled nervously. The pinball-sized-sweat was back, along with a pink flush across his cheeks. He hoped it could be passed off a sunburn. "Heh, heh, n-no problem. Happy to help."

He heard a _ahem_ behind him. Steven was giving him an encouraging thumbs-up, but he wasn't the one who had spoken. That was Sadie, who had her arms crossed over her chest. She gestured to the other people of the party, who were either standing around chatting or already seated at a table. "Where are the Gems at? I thought you said they were going to help."

Steven heard this and immediately ran over to the boom box on the table. Hidden from view, Ruby, Sapphire, and Opal were standing behind a nearby boulder at the base of the cliff. They were watching intently but carefully from their hiding spot. When they saw Steven nod at them, Opal and Sapphire both gave Ruby a thumbs-up. Ruby climbed to the top of the boulder just as Steven pressed the 'play' button of the boom box.

Dramatic and triumphant music began to blast out, catching the attention of all the teenagers. At first, they looked to the boom box, but then they were watching the red ball spinning through the air in a perfect arc.

Ruby landed with a _thump_ on her feet. She straightened herself and placed her fists on her hips. "Greetings, party-goers! You have come here today to celebrate the day of birth of a very special girl! And we, the hosts of this party: Ruby!" With this, Ruby held her arms out beside her. Her entire form flashed bright red, and when the light dispersed, she was wearing a short dark tank-top that exposed her belly button-less midriff, matching shorts, and no shoes.

Sapphire gently descended down beside her with her arms extended outwards. "Sapphire!" She, too, was engulfed in bright light as she changed her form. Her long blue hair was pulled away from her face in a high ponytail. Her dress and gloves were replaced with a one-piece blue swimsuit with a lighter sash tied around her waist at the hip.

Opal did one graceful flip in the air and landed just behind them. She had large scroll of paper in one of her hands. "And Opal!" One pair of arms went down as the other went outwards as she lit up in a light purple color. The pieces of white hair on either side of her face were now loose from their ties. She was dressed in thigh-length shorts and a teal tank-top, as well as a sheer cover-up that ended just above her knees.

Ruby continued from where she had left off. " - Would just like to say...!"

Opal unscrolled the long banner in her hands at her arms' length. Ruby and Sapphire struck matching poses, one knee bent as their arms gestured to it. On the banner, _HAPPY BIRTHDAY PENNY!_ was written across in sparkling gold letters, framed with images of balloons.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY!" The Crystal Gems cried. Steven ran beside them to toss up a handful of confetti and blow a party whistle.

For a while, silence was the only sound in the air as everyone took the scene in. The Crystal Gems just kept their places. Lars could feel his stomach turning into water. His thoughts were a mantra, repeating, _Pleasedontbemadpleasedontbemad._

To his shock, Jenny just smiled and clapped her hands together. The other party guests joined in with calm applause. Ruby and Sapphire bowed as Opal went to rolling up the long banner in her hands. Steven continued to blow on his party whistle.

"That was sweet," said Jenny. "Misspelled, but sweet." She winked at the ginger-haired 'host.' "Thanks, Lars."

Lars let out a single, breathless cough of a laugh. As Jenny and the others went to mingling around the tables, Lars looked back down at Steven. He winked at him again, but it only gave Lars minimal comfort.

* * *

The next few minutes were spent preparing everyone for the cake. Steven insisted that everyone put on a cone-shaped party hat and take a seat. Jenny was the only exception, as Steven had given her a long, fur-trimmed cape and crown as a "Lars Family Birthday Tradition". Jenny did not protest - actually, at the seat on the end of the table, she looked immensely satisfied with her attire. Steven poured everyone drinks of either soda or water. Lars continued to sit at the edge of his seat, waiting for something to go wrong at any moment despite Steven's occasional wink and thumbs-up.

Eventually, as the figures of the Crystal Gems appeared from the side of the cliff, Steven called, "Here comes the cake!" He waved his arms at the party-goers like an orchestra composer. "All together now!"

Everyone went to singing,

"Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday, dear Jen-ny!

Haaaaapy birthday to y - "

All singing stopped when the cake was set down before the birthday girl.

To say that it was a mess was...a bit much, but yet, pretty accurate. The white frosting appeared as if it had been applied carefully and steadily, but ultimately bombed. Most of it was misshapen, lopsided, or even missing, as if the cake wasn't completely cool when it was put on. Across the front, in red icing, was written 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, B JENNY'. Five unlit candles were lined above the letters. From halfway down the table, Lars gripped his knees tightly. 'Oh no...'

Opal was giving the cake's appearance unsure glances, while Ruby didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "Hot n' ready, just for the birthday girl!" She winked at Jenny and leaned over to catch the wick of each candle in-between her thumb and forefinger. Soon, they were all lit, and Ruby leaned back expectantly.

Jenny, although naturally surprised at first, eventually just shrugged and blew out the candles. More polite applause ensued, and as Steven went to go get the plates, Jenny turned to Buck, Sour Cream, and the others. "Never had a hot birthday cake before. Sounds interesting.'"

Sapphire appeared a moment later with a stack of plates and a knife in hand. She cut out precise squares of cake and set them on the paper plates for Opal, Ruby, and Steven to pass out to the guests. The cake itself was vanilla and dotted with various colors like confetti cake, which Jenny seemed to appreciate.

Jenny bit into a forkful of cake. She hummed at first...then her chewing began to slow down. There was even an unexpected 'crunch'. She didn't look disgusted, per se, but confused. The others mimicked her look, pausing in their chewing with furrowed brows. Sadie gulped audibly. Lars took a bite of his and had to stop himself from choking at the taste. The cake was sweet, but also very minty, with small pieces that crunched in-between his teeth. There was also an underlying spiciness that became more intense as he kept chewing.

Eventually, Jenny swallowed and put on a polite smile as she turned to Opal. "What kind of cake is this?"

Opal beamed proudly. "Only the best kind! Vanilla cake with thyme, peppermint, rock candy...Hey, Sapphire, what was the other thing we put in there?"

Sapphire held up a small, half-empty container in her hand. The wrapper read 'Ultra-Spice Pepper Flakes'.

Jenny's reply - as the pepper flakes seemingly hit her at last and she reached for her drink - was an "Oh. Okay." through a confused grin. Other party-goers reached for their drink as well to wash it down. Steven didn't seem to very much enjoy the cake, either, but continued to eat it nonetheless. Lars was too humiliated to take in anything else.

After the cake - Steven was the only one who asked for seconds - came the presents. Plates and cups were cleared off so that gift boxes and bags could be put on the table before Jenny. With each gift, Jenny either cooed or squealed and thanked whoever had given it to her. The Crystal Gems kept to themselves a yard or two away. Everyone else chuckled and conversed all the while.

...Except for Lars, who was cursing himself for FORGETTING A FLIPPIN' PRESENT FOR JENNY. He dug his fingers into his shirt anxiously as he looked around for Steven. Jenny was already more than halfway through her gifts - he'd look like even more of an idiot if he gave a gift to her late. Each paper torn and every bag opened was like a twist of his gut.

Finally, Steven reappeared with a small blue box with a yellow ribbon in his hands. Lars all but pounced on him, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the boy. "PLEASE tell me that's a gift for Jenny!"

Steven nodded. "Yep! Made it all by..." He paused when he saw the pleading look of desperation on Lars's face. Steven looked back down at the gift box. He removed the name tag in one swift pull and held it up to him. "Yourself. You made it all by yourself."

Lars sighed in relief and took the box. He dashed back to the table just as Jenny was looking at her last gift. It was a gold bangle bracelet with purple, blue, and red gemstones going through the middle. She held it out so that it glinted in the sun.

"Nice!" She winked at the short blonde sitting three chairs down. "Thanks, Sadie!"

Sadie just murmured "You're welcome" back shyly. Lars appeared maybe a bit too suddenly beside Jenny with the box in hand. He held it out to her with an almost painful smile. "Gift."

Jenny blinked once, then took the box from him. She pulled the ribbon loose and tore off the paper as the others watched expectantly. Lars crossed his fingers that Steven had at least gotten something decent. He was trying to think of 'best case scenarios': jewelry, gift cards, anything to do with a phone...

"Oh!" Jenny grinned when she looked inside. "A T-shirt!"

Lars sighed in relief -

\- which turned into a choke when he saw the actual T-shirt.

It looked like it had been a regular, gas-station beige T-shirt before it had been modified. On the chest, in what appeared to be permanent markers of various colors, was a crude image of Jenny. Her name was printed underneath in the same colors. The T-shirt also looked two sizes too big for the teenager. She wasn't even wearing it and Lars knew that the sleeves probably came to almost her elbow.

From where they stood, Ruby raised an eyebrow and turned to Steven. "I thought that was YOUR - "

Steven shushed her. He watched Jenny expectantly.

Jenny turned the T-shirt around and held it to her chest. The reactions from the others were either raised brows or casual nods. Jenny, although she didn't squeal or giggle in delight, gave Lars an appreciative smile. "Thanks. It's cute."

Lars was far past the point of feeling calmed by compliments. His back was starting to hurt from shaking so much. His palms were slick with sweat, and his muscles were stiff. His heart was likely to break his ribs with how hard it was pounding.

"Alright!" Steven clapped his hands together to summon everyone's attention. "Who's ready to dance?"

This brought up several cheers and whoops of agreement as everyone got to their feet. Everyone made way to the empty space in the grass. All eyes seemed to be on Sour Cream, in particular. Lars shuffled beside Sadie, who was shyly twiddling her thumbs as she waited for the music.

Steven turned to the blue Gem standing beside the boom box. "Hit it, Sapphire!"

She pressed the 'play' button on the small music device. Everyone moved all of a few inches before either freezing or awkwardly slowing to a halt. The music, rather than being upbeat and lively, was a slow piano ballad. A few moments passed as everyone waited for it to pick up or maybe change, but it didn't.

Steven shuffled closer to Sapphire to whisper, "I was expecting something a bit more...more?"

It was a long pause of piano notes before Sapphire murmured, "Everyone's a critic."

The others didn't seem to know what to do with themselves. Kiki started to rock on her heels. Buck remained immobile and emotionless. Sour Cream was frozen where he stood, his eyes the size of pinpricks. "I cannot rave to this."

Lars pulled Steven away once again. This brought a few looks, either out of confusion or, for the Gems, distaste. Jenny was apparently trying to tell everyone that there was nothing wrong with starting with a slow dance, but Lars didn't care anymore. He was absolutely livid.

He stopped pulling Steven along when they were far from earshot, some twenty yards down the beach along the cliff's side. He rounded on the boy, but Steven was as curious and confused as ever. "What kind of party is this?"

Steven shrugged. "A birthday party?"

Lars growled and pointed behind him. "Everything that you've done today has been a disaster! EVERYTHING!"

Steven's brows furrowed atop his head. "I thought Jenny was having a good time."

"She's just saying that! OF COURSE she's just saying that!" Lars's arms began to move around wildly as he continued to speak. All of the annoyance and anxiety that had been building up was finally coming out in every way imaginable. "The place looks stupid, the cake was disgusting, the present was lame, and you even got the music wrong!"

Steven's confusion finally began to make way into anger. Whichever comment had gotten under his skin, Lars didn't now, but he was now putting his hands on his hips as he stared hotly up at the teen. "The Gems and I tried our best and put a lot of work into this."

"But now everyone thinks I'M stupid! Everything that you've done today, everyone thought that I did, and now everyone thinks that I'm just a pathetic loser that they don't want to talk to!"

Despite the angry, hot tears gathering at the corners of the teen's eyes, Steven kept his ground and sternly replied, "Well, then why didn't you just tell them that we did it?"

"Because - I - YOU - Ugh!" Lars dug his fingers into the tuft of orange hair atop his head. "This was my one chance to make myself look good and you - !"

Steven somehow guessed exactly what he was going to say, because he cut him off to reply, "I ruined it? I was helping you, Lars. I set up the party and the food and the music because I wanted to help you out, not because you asked me to." He took a deep breath and said in a calmer tone, "I'm sorry that you're embarrassed, okay? Maybe this is just me, but if someone was going to judge me for doing something nice for them, I wouldn't want to 'prove myself' to them."

Before Lars could reply to that, someone at the party shouted, "Cool! Check this out!"

Lars and Steven hardly spared a momentary glance at each other before racing back to the party. A short teen whose name Steven did not know was holding something in his hand. It looked like a baseball-sized round rock, except that there was a piece missing, showing off its hollow, sparkling green inside. One of the eggshells from the previous morning. Everyone was huddled around to get a closer look. The Gems were an exception, as they seemed confused and a touch bit anxious as the teen held it.

As the teen turned the 'rock' around, letting the sunlight shimmer off its surface, someone in the crowd cried, "Cool! Eat it!"

Ruby was immediately shouting, "No, no, no, no, no! Put it down!"

A low rumble summoned everyone's attention. It felt like a small tremor running through the earth. Murmurs and whispers of confusion rose up from the teens. The Crystal Gems went rigid, eyes darting everywhere, prepared to pounce at a moment's notice.

"What is that?"

At Sadie's exclamation, everyone turned to the ocean. Near the shore, three collections of bubbling foam were approaching. The third one dispersed, then the second, as if something were moving closer underneath the sand. The small tremors increased, and then it turned into a steady rumble from movement underneath the soil.

Something burst up from the ground and sent small and large clods of dirt everywhere. Some people squeaked and yelped in fright, others went still with surprise as something rose up to tower over them.

It looked like a giant worm, its bright orange skin surrounded in a thick, gelatin-like clear substance. From its head protruded several limbs, almost like tentacles. It lacked eyes or a nose, an inside its mouth flashed razor-sharp green teeth able to shred anything to ribbons. Even without any form of eyes, it was almost glaring down at the party.

Atop its head sat several of the small worms that had been on the beach the day before. One chirped triumphantly, as if to boast, 'Yep, that's them.'

The worm dove down, and everyone scattered. But no matter what direction they went running in, they were blocked off by the Worm's body. Yelps and screams rose into the air. The tables and everything on them were crushed within seconds.

The Crystal Gems wasted little time. Opal summoned her longbow, Ruby her gauntlets, Sapphire her knuckledusters. Ruby went to landing as many blows as she could. Sapphire did her best with her knuckledusters, but the thick layer over the Worm's skin was almost impenetrable. Opal, however, managed to get some spots open with her arrows. So, when a piece of the protective layer went missing, Ruby and/or Sapphire went to hit the weak spot. This worked somewhat, but each hit made the Worm shriek and writhe, putting the teenagers in further danger of being hit or crushed.

Steven found himself, Jenny, Buck, Sour Cream, Kiki, Sadie, and Lars all trapped in a small circle of the Worm's body. The more the Worm moved, the smaller the circle became. Everyone huddled together to get as much space as possible, but it was doing little good.

Steven was trying to figure out what to do, but he was coming to dead ends every time. There was nothing they could use to attack the Worm. They had nothing to keep the body pried apart from them. The only hope seemed to be waiting for Opal, Sapphire, and Ruby to defeat the Worm, but he was pretty sure they didn't even realize that he and the others were trapped.

Buck, although as calm as ever, was holding his arms in front of the others as if to protect them. Sour Cream seemed largely unfazed part for looking around for an exit. Jenny was all but crushing her younger sister against her in a tight hug. Sadie tugged on Lars's T-shirt to catch his attention. "What do we do?"

Lars's eyes darted left and right. There was no way they could go under, and the body may as well have been brick walls. The only way out was to go up, but how would they manage that?

Fortunately, a light bulb went off over his head just as he thought that. He tapped on Buck's shoulder. "Get on my shoulders!"

Buck immediately understood, and climbed onto Lars's shoulders when he knelt down. Lars, with some small difficulty, stood to his feet with Buck balanced atop him. Lars turned to everyone else. "Everybody up!"

Jenny immediately thrust Kiki to them. "TAKE MY SISTER FIRST."

Kiki, with a sigh at her sister's melodrama, carefully climbed up Lars and Buck to the opening above. She couldn't get a grip on the slippery surface of the Worm, so she eventually resorted to just flinging herself forward and over. She disappeared from sight, but they heard her land just a moment later.

Steven refused to go next, so the next insisted person was Sour Cream. After that was Jenny, then Sadie. Buck, Lars, and Steven were the only ones left, but even without words, they were trying to figure out how this was going to work.

"Steven, go!" Lars nudged the boy with his knee. The walls of the Worm's body were enclosing more. There was about five feet of space around them.

"What about you?"

"Does it LOOK like we have time to argue about this?!"

Steven still didn't seem comfortable with leaving him behind, but reluctantly climbed up Lars's body, then Buck. The usually-silent boy told him in a surprisingly gentle voice, "Up you go." He threw Steven upwards onto the Worm's body.

It was almost like going over the edge of a bouncy-house. After climbing a small ways, Steven fell, but only for a surprising few feet. He looked down to see that Kiki, Jenny, Sour Cream, and Sadie were all standing atop one another's shoulders, slightly leaning against the Worm. Jenny, standing atop the stack of people, nodded at Steven.

Steven nodded back in understanding, and turned around. He held his arms over the edge of the opening, and a moment later, Buck's hands met his. Steven turned his head over his shoulder to call, "Pull!"

Sadie, at the base of the stack, went walking forward. Steven kept a tight grip on Buck's hands as the both of them were pulled backwards. The opening was closing tighter by the second. Finally, Lars appeared on Buck's feet, rising out with him. He was pulled out just in time - his foot was squeezed as he was pulled out.

The teens and Steven landed in a heap on the ground. They quickly took off running, and luckily weren't cut off or blocked this time. They ran past the cliff to the beach, and only stopped when they were positive that they were safe.

The other teenagers fortunately had also made their way out of harm's path. The Gems were continuing their method of attack. The Worm was now missing several spots of its protective layer, and the skin underneath was bruised and scratched. It was also positively livid by this point, thrashing and roaring. The smaller worms somehow managed to stay on its head.

Eventually, as it continued to move about, the Worm whipped its head around and took a hold of Opal's foot with its mouth. The four-armed Gem yelped as she was tossed into the air. The Worm opened its mouth wide for her with every intent to swallow her down. However, as Opal went falling, she instead aimed her bow down to its open mouth and fired a quick arrow inside.

The result was almost instant. There was a muffled pop, and the Worm's body had dispersed into glittering purple dust. Its smaller worms yelped as they went falling to the ground. They landed alongside their mother's discarded Gem.

Ruby was quick to capture the Gem inside a red Bubble and send it to her Room. There were a few cheers and whoops, but they were all short-lived. Everyone instead went running to Lars, Steven, and the other teens as they came back to the scene. They were met with the expectant questions of "Are you guys okay?" and "What happened?"

"We're fine, we're fine," Jenny said with a wave of her hand. "We weren't even scared." Behind her, Kiki rolled her eyes and smirked.

Someone in the crowd asked, "What did you guys do?"

Lars was content to let the others explain that they had just climbed out. However, Steven pulled Lars beside him and proclaimed, "Lars saved us! He came up with the idea to climb out."

Praise and compliments rose up from all around. Some kids cried "Good job, Lars!" or "Nice thinking!" Jenny beamed at him in appreciation, while Buck sent him a thumbs-up and a small smile. Steven patted him on the back encouragingly.

For the first time in the evening, Lars beamed.

When everything had calmed down, and the Crystal Gems cleaned up the mess of dirt and debris left behind by the Worm, everyone was content to carry on with the party. Although his arm was still in a splint, Sour Cream hooked up his cellphone to the boom box to play more party-appropriate music. They danced for a while, and eventually, they took out some of the things in the "Fun Stuff" box. Some people went to play a game of Frisbee, others set up a game of Twist-N-Stretch on a flat bed of earth. Even Lars joined in for some, and did a dance with Sadie when a slow song came to play. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting everything in orange light.

Eventually, Ruby called, "Anyone up for some burgers?!"

This was met with exclamations of agreement, and a sigh of relief from Jenny and Kiki for having something other than pizza for a change. As The Crystal Gems headed towards Steven's Room to grab the grill and ingredients, Sapphire told Opal, "Let's not put peanut butter on them."

"Fine." Opal rolled her eyes with a playful smirk. "Scaredy-cats."

Steven did a running jump to catch the Frisbee coming at him. There were a few cheers when he caught it, and he flung it back to the crowd. He felt someone tap on his shoulder, and turned to Lars.

Lars sighed and sheepishly ran a hand up and down his arm. "Thanks for setting up the party. And...sorry. I'll tell the guys it was you who did everything."

Steven smiled and waved his hand. "No worries. I already explained everything."

Lars glanced sideways. Jenny, Buck, and Sour Cream were talking to a small group of their friends. Jenny caught him looking from the corner of her eye and sent him a smile and a wave. "What?"

"I told them that you just wanted to help Jenny out, and that it was me that was doing everything wrong. Jenny said it was cool. She told me to thank you."

Lars sighed. He gave Steven a small smirk of a smile. "Thanks."

Steven held his arms out.

Lars furrowed his brows bemusedly. "What?"

"Hug...?"

"No." Lars turned on his heel and briskly walked away with his shoulders hunched over.

Steven tsked. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called after him, "I'll get you one day, Lars!"


	13. The Regeneration

"Tune in next week for the next tragic episode of _Crying Breakfast Friends_!"

"Nooooooo!" Steven fell back against his pillows. He grabbed one and pushed it into his face as he whined, "I have to know if Blubbering Toast is okay!"

Beside him, Sapphire reached forward and turned off the television just as it began a new program. The promos for that night's episode said that one of the Breakfast Friends would be gravely injured, and Steven had made sure to remind Sapphire about it all week. They had sat down in front of the television at seven with a bowl of popcorn between them and Steven wrapped in a blanket.

Steven sighed and pulled the pillow away from his face. "I can't bear this concerned suspense. Wait!" He sat up and turned to Sapphire. "Can you tell me what's going to happen in the next episode?"

Sapphire nodded.

"Tell me!"

Sapphire opened her lips.

"No, wait!" Steven pressed a hand to her mouth before she could speak a syllable. "Don't tell me! I promised myself I wouldn't indulge in spoilers!" He paused, then removed his hand from Sapphire before murmuring, "But I'm not going to sleep tonight if I don't know..." He put his hand back. "No! I can bear it, I always do!" He removed his hand. "But Blubbering Toast is my favorite character..."

When he reached out for her lips again, Sapphire blocked it with her palm. "You'll be fine."

Steven sighed and dropped his hand. "I hate cliffhangers."

A red crack ran down the Temple Door on the other side of Steven's Room, and Ruby and Opal stepped out a moment later. Ruby hopped over the Warp Pad and raised an eyebrow at them from the floor. "Are you guys done watching that Crying Food show?"

"Yes, and I am very upset!" Steven grabbed the popcorn bowl and angrily stormed down the steps from his loft. "I mean, you make us wait over a month for the next episode and that's what you give us? Who schedules the show, anyway? Is it impossible to play one episode a week?" Steven groaned and huffily handed his bowl out to Ruby. "You want these?"

Ruby scooped the unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bowl into her palm. She clenched her fist, and as muffled popping sounded off, she said, "Yeah, that stinks. Anyway! We have a mission to go on!"

"Now?" Steven frowned down at his clothes. "I'm already in my pajamajams."

"I'm sorry, Steven," sighed Opal. "But we need to go take care of it now." She paused. "Nice pajamas, by the way."

"Thanks," Steven sighed. "Let me grab my cheeseburger backpack. Sapphire, come on!"

Sapphire walked to the edge of Steven's loft and drifted down to the floor below. Steven quickly grabbed his sandals and his backpack and followed her to the Warp Pad. They squeezed on, and as the lights started, Steven asked, "Are you sure you can't tell me?"

Sapphire put a hand on his shoulder and gently shushed him.

* * *

When the lights fell away, Steven looked around at the environment. It looked like a sort of vast cave. Behind and before them were tunnels of sparkling crystal walls, blue and purple and green. Sharp stalagmites and stalactites were protruding from the ceiling and ground like glass blades. They almost cut Steven just by looking at them.

"Cool!" Steven's voice echoed off the walls. 'Cool' chorused several times before fading away. "Hey! Echoooold! Cold, cold, cold!" Steven put his backpack down to pull out his jacket and quickly pull it on. He sighed in warm relief.

"Okay." Opal stepped off of the Warp Pad and looked around the caves. She had one pair of hands on her hips while a finger came to stroke gently at her chin. "If I remember correctly, then we should be going...this way." She pointed down one of the tunnels.

Ruby hummed, then went into the opposite tunnel. "Then we're probably supposed to go this way."

"What makes you - ?" As if to answer Opal's question, a low growl echoed from the other tunnel. She paused, then hurried after Ruby. "Okay, we're going this way."

Steven and Sapphire trailed behind them. Steven huffed and turned to Sapphire with his hands on his hips. "I can't believe you're being so calm about this. Aren't you angry?"

"I know the plot of every episode and every season that will ever be created."

"Oh. Right." Steven paused and thought about that. He hadn't realized that, since television episodes are set in stone, Sapphire would be able to predict the outcomes of all of them. A moment later, he sheepishly began, "So - ?"

"There's going to be twelve seasons."

 _"Yesssssssssss."_ Steven quietly pumped his fist to himself.

They turned and twisted into more tunnels, some of them rounding them backwards, others leading to nowhere. Ruby quickly grew frustrated and her walking turned to stomping that left scorched footprints. Every now and then, Opal would suggest they go down a tunnel they already went through, and once, she even asked what it was they were looking for again. Sapphire and Steven just quietly followed.

Finally, they came to what they were looking for: a round area, covered wall-to-wall in sharp crystals and blades. In the middle of the area was a peculiar object hovering above a small pool of water. It looked like a jagged purple crystal emitting a soft glow. It shimmered at every angle.

"What is that?"

Steven suddenly felt hands clamping around his mouth. The Gems looked upwards at the ceiling, where the razor stalagmites twitched with the echo of Steven's voice. They went still a moment later.

Opal sighed and removed her hands from Steven's lips, putting a finger to hers and shushing him. "It's a Shooting Star. A powerful weapon of mass destruction."

In a breathy whisper, Steven asked, "Why do we need it?"

"To keep it safe," Opal whispered back. She turned to Ruby. "We can't touch it. Use your gauntlets."

Ruby nodded and summoned her gauntlets onto her hands. The telltale _woomp_ sound that accompanied it caused the stalagmites to twitch and the Gems to hold their breaths. Finally, they stopped, and Ruby sighed in relief and stepped forward. She cupped her gloved hands around the Shooting Star and pulled it close to her. She encased it in a red Bubble and sent it away.

Soft sighs of relief ran through the group. Steven smiled and whispered, "You know, usually this is the part where something goes wrong and we all suffer for it. I'm surprised."

Despite his soft voice, the stalagmites started twitching again. It was fiercer again, almost angrier, but they stopped a moment later.

Then something came falling down.

The Gems yelped as stone and crystal fell from the ceiling and almost on them as well. With a thud, something large and heavy landed before them. It looked like a giant spider of sorts - five purple eyes glared down at them as four pincers snapped hungrily. On the ends of each of its eight legs were the stalagmites, razor-sharp blades that clicked on the floor.

The Gems summoned their Weapons at once. Not a moment later, the Spider leaped forward, causing them all to jump and duck out of the way. Ruby ran forward to land a blow on it, but reeled back when the blades came slicing towards her. She growled in frustration.

Opal fired an arrow at its side, but it wasn't a particularly powerful one, and the Spider just turned around with an annoyed snarl. It also turned around and faced Steven as if it were HIM that had fired the arrow. Before Steven could move, its front leg knocked him down and pinned him to the floor. The tip of the blade was too sharp for Steven to risk moving. The Spider reared another blade back, poised for him.

In a blue blur, Sapphire had broken the front blade, grabbed Steven, and ran out of the way just as the other blade came swinging down.

The Spider lost its balance on its broken leg and tumbled forward. It snarled almost feebly. Ruby quickly pounced on it, and in a flurry of gauntlets, the Spider had disappeared into blue dust. A single blue Gem was all that remained, and Opal Bubbled it quickly.

Steven and Sapphire, meanwhile, were recovering from the attack. Sapphire had fallen onto her front, while Steven had sprawled out like a rag-doll. Steven groaned and rubbed his temple as he murmured, "That seemed eerily familiar to a situation that we have faced before. You okay, Sapphire?"

Sapphire lifted herself to her feet and dusted off the blue skirt of her dress. She didn't even nod halfway before she noticed Steven's face. He was staring at her with wide, horrified eyes and a hanging jaw. She paused, then asked, "What is it?"

When Steven continued to gawk at her, Sapphire looked down.

Then she saw what the problem was.

From her right shoulder to her left hip, a deep, clean incision had cut through her body. The fabric of her dress was cleanly slit. There was no blood, no bone, nothing even resembling gore, but there was something about the sight of the diagonal slice that was simply gruesome.

Sapphire hummed all too calmly. Her head lifted back up at Steven, and as serenely as ever, even as the top half of her body began to slowly slide away from the lower half, said, "Don't panic, Steven. I am going to be - "

 _POOF!_

Steven flinched when Sapphire suddenly burst into a cloud of sparkling blue dust. It dispersed into nothing quickly after. Nothing was left of her but her blue Gem, which hit the floor before him like a discarded toy. Silence filled the air.

It took Steven a moment to realize what had happened. Sapphire was gone. _Gone._

He breathlessly reached forward and cupped the cool Gem in his hands. It was familiar, but yet, so, so, wrong. This was happening too quickly, too suddenly, too...Was she really...?

"Steven!"

Steven's head lifted up at the sound of his name. Opal and Ruby had come over to him, kneeling down beside him with furrowed brows and deep frowns. They saw the Gem in his hands and looks of surprised took over their features.

Steven hadn't realized that tears were now streaming down his face in salty streaks. He held up the Gem in his hands, hardly managing to choke out, "I...She saved me and...I..."

Opal reached out and gently wiped away the tears on his cheeks. She shushed him soothingly, and put on a comforting smile. "Sapphire will be perfectly fine."

Steven's tears stopped falling as he looked up at Opal quizzically. _Perfectly fine?_ How was she going to be 'perfectly fine' when she literally didn't exist anymore?

Ruby caught onto his confusion and gently explained with a hand on his shoulder, "Our bodies aren't real, they're just projections. When we're damaged too badly, we go into our Gems to regenerate." She said this last part as she pointed at Steven's hands.

Steven looked down at Sapphire's Gem. This was Sapphire? She was actually inside there, resting, just waiting to heal herself?

"So..." He paused. "She's going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Opal said. She ran a hand through his curly brown hair. "In fact, she'll probably be better when she comes back."

"Oh." Steven paused again. He held up Sapphire's Gem and asked, "So how long is she going to take? A few minutes?"

Ruby shrugged one shoulder with complete causality. "Sapphire's kind of unpredictable. It could take minutes, maybe a few hours, maybe a day or two. It'll all be fine."

* * *

ONE WEEK LATER

* * *

"Another tragic episode of _Crying Breakfast Friends_ \- tonight at seven!"

Steven reached forward and turned off the television. He glanced down at his chest. He had a towel wrapped around his neck so that it formed a sort of sling. Inside, Sapphire's Gem was resting as still as ever.

Ruby and Opal kept telling him that while Sapphire was definitely taking longer than usual to regenerate, this wasn't completely impossible. They said regenerating took a lot of thought and work because Gems have to consider the new form they will take when they return. Be patient, they said.

Still, that was kind of hard to do. Every day he would come into his Room with his fingers crossed, hoping that Sapphire would be there, only to deflate when all he found was the blue Gem on a pillow or swaddled in a blanket. Sometimes, he would almost instinctively call for Sapphire for help with something and awkwardly bask in silence afterwards. It was just weird, having a piece of everyday life missing.

The Warp Pad came to life, and Opal and Ruby appeared on its surface. In a sense. Opal was holding a rather sizable block of ice in her hands, inside of which Ruby was encased. Her mouth was open in a war cry, as if she were frozen just as she was attacking. The ice was quickly melting from Ruby's heat, pooling water on the floor.

"Hey, Steven." Opal stepped down from the Warp Pad and frowned down at the Gem inside Steven's sling. "She really is taking a while, isn't she?"

"Are you SURE she's okay?"

"She's fine. Don't worry your floofy little head about it." Opal patted his bushy hair as she said this. She patted the ice block in her hands and said, "I'm going to try and melt this before Ruby blows herself out."

Steven sighed, but nodded. Opal stepped past him and went outside, leaving him alone once more. Silence rang in his ears.

Steven picked up the blue Gem in his sling. He held it up so that he could inspect it from all sides. He still couldn't quite grasp that this seemingly lifeless stone was actually Sapphire. It hadn't so much as twitched or flickered for a week.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. He had been talking to it fairly often during the week and never received an answer. That didn't stop him. "Why are you making me wait so long? Are you angry with me?"

He huffed and looked up at the Temple Door. Sapphire's gemstone hadn't been triggered for seven days. "Maybe you're uncomfortable? Do you want me to take you to your Room?" Silence, but he sighed, "I wish I could."

Steven felt something suddenly, a light warmth from his belly. He curiously pulled up his shirt and looked down. His Gem was glowing a soft pink, but it was different from what it felt like to summon a Weapon. It wasn't strong or powerful, just warm.

He heard a soft chime, and looked back up at the Temple Door. The pink Gem on the star was glowing, as was the blue one, despite Sapphire's Gem being as still as ever. He frowned - what was happening? Then, the door was flashing bright, and it disappeared.

Steven inched forward and looked inside. Teal grass, frosted trees, cool air, all familiar sights that he had seen before...Did he actually manage to open the Temple Door to Sapphire's Room? He hadn't even accessed his OWN room yet.

He looked down at his Gem, then Sapphire's. A grin split across his face from ear-to-ear. "Fist bump!" He pushed his knuckles to the face of the Gem, emitting a small clacking sound.

He entered the Room, and the Door disappeared after him. The cool air made goosebumps rise on his arms, just as they had before, and he could hear the soft melodies of the glass structures in the trees. The grass tickled his feet as he walked. He made a beeline for the familiar wall of feathery vines and brushed them aside.

He walked up to the cushioned basin and gently placed Sapphire's Gem inside. The soft material dipped underneath the small weight. He knelt down and put his hands on the brim and closely watched for any movement.

"Alright. You can come out now."

The Gem was still.

"You're here. Come on."

Not even a flicker.

Steven sighed and leaned heavily against the lip of the basin. Quietly, he whispered, "Please come back."

The basin shifted, and he yelped at the dip of gravity. He pulled himself back to his feet and looked to see what had happened. The basin had moved forward from his weight, and was exposing a hole underneath it. Usually, Steven would just move it back, but he noticed that there was something inside. He grabbed Sapphire's Gem and placed it back in his sling before pushing the basin forward.

It took a moment, but the basin eventually fell to the floor with a resounding thud. Steven looked down at the hole now left gaping open. After a short tunnel, there was definitely some hidden area below.

Steven hummed. "Something tells me that you wouldn't want me to go in here." He paused. "But you're also not here to tell me that." He moved away from the basin and headed for the exit of Sapphire's chamber. "But I've got to be patient and talk to you about when you get - "

* * *

Steven luckily landed on his feet after the fall. He looked up at the hole that he had jumped through, now above him and out of reach. He made sure his sling was tight around his neck. "I have no patience."

He looked around to see where they had landed. It was...different than Sapphire's Room. Rather than grass and trees and leaves, it was a small tunnel of glassy, blank blue walls. The tunnel turned up ahead, and light was coming from the other side. Steven's curiosity gripped him once more, and he inched forward to see what was on the other side.

It was a sort of round chamber, a spherical area with walls made of glassy panels. The bottom of it was far down below and the only flat space was a long walkway to the center. At the end of the walkway, something was hovering in midair. It was also incredibly silent in the room, so much so that Steven could hear blood rushing in his ears. He held Sapphire's Gem close to him and stepped forward. The slaps of his sandals bounced off of the walls.

The object at the end was a bright, blue-white sphere, so still it looked as it were pinned in the air. Steven held up a hand beside it. It was emitting what Steven could only call cold heat. When he pulled his hand back, he saw that the skin of his palms and fingers had faded in color, his tan coming back like ink spreading through paper. At the bottom of the sphere, on the walkway, were five blue stones arranged in a circle.

"This looks important," Steven mused as he took the scene in.

He looked down at the stones and knelt beside them. He put his hand on one and tried to pick it up, only to find that it was not really a rock so much as a pillar. It was embedded in the walkway, and as Steven pulled it from its hole, he found that it was the length of his wrist to his elbow.

There was a low hum, and Steven looked upwards. The blue-white sphere was slowly turning pink, and then border-lining on red. The glow around it was wavering like disturbed water. The humming was steadily growing louder, yet it was not echoing off the walls, somehow.

"Nope!" Steven quickly went to stuffing the pillar back into its slot. "Nope, nope, nope!"

He finally pressed it back in place. The humming silenced and the sphere returned to normal instantly.

Steven clicked his tongue. "Okay." He pulled himself to his feet and quickly walked back to the tunnel. "I am definitely asking you about this when you come back."

He didn't notice - how could he? - that the pillar shifted just ever-so-slightly up from its place as he turned the corner.

* * *

"A tragic new episode of _Crying Breakfast Friends_ \- right now!"

Steven sat back on his pillows as the discordant opening theme song to the cartoon started up. The sky had become bluish-gray outside, the sun having set some time ago. Opal was still trying to melt Ruby from the ice block, as Ruby was continuously exhausting herself trying to get out. Beside him, Sapphire's Gem was propped up against a pillow if its own so that its triangular facet faced the television. The screen's image was reflected on its surfaces. Steven reached into the bowl of popcorn beside him and picked out a few kernels. He placed them in front of the Gem, paused, then moved them closer.

The episode started up with a 'LAST TIME ON' segment, then the actual episode. Wailing Waffle and Broken Butter were standing around Blubbering Toast, who was in a hospital bed. By the looks of it, anyway - it was just a white bed with an IV going into his crust. A bite-shaped chunk had been torn from his corner. All three of them had tears running down their faces.

"WHYYYYY, BLUBBERING TOAST?" wailed Wailing Waffle. "WHYYYY DID YOU DO THAT FOR ME? YOU'RE INJURED BECAUSE YOU TRIED TO SAVE ME!"

 _In a blue blur, Sapphire had broken the front blade, grabbed Steven, and ran out of the way just as the other blade came swinging down._

"YOU'RE MY FRIEEEEND!" Blubbering Toast cried back.

 _Sapphire unclasped her hands and swung them down across her body. The dust all over her flew off of her as if by explosive force. Steven yelped when bits of it got in his eyes, which made Sapphire grab his water bottle and toss its contents on his face to flush it out._

"I DID IT BECAUSE I LOOOOVE YOU!"

 _Sapphire's eye rolled, but she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him anyway, careful not to touch his wound. Steven chuckled and patted her back. "I missed you."_

 _"Me too."_

"BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?!" Broken Butter asked in a broken voice.

 _From her right shoulder to her left hip, a deep, clean incision had cut through her body. The fabric of her dress was cleanly slit. There was no blood, no bone, nothing even resembling gore, but there was something about the sight of the diagonal slice that was simply gruesome._

"WHAT IF YOU NEVER GET BETTER?!"

 _\- even as the top half of her body began to slowly slide away from the lower half -_

"WHAT IF WE NEVER SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN?!"

 _POOF!_

"UGH!"

Steven's hand lashed out and angrily hit the power button. The screen flashed off instantly, leaving him - once again - in total silence. He kicked off the blankets around him, never minding that he knocked over the popcorn bowl and caused the kernels to go spilling onto the floor. He turned to Sapphire's Gem and picked it up from its pillow. He held it close to his face - he could see his reflection on it.

"You knew what would happen, right?!" He asked. "You can see the future! You knew you'd get hurt!" His hands were trembling, but they kept a tight hold on the Gem. "So why did you do it?!"

Tears were now freely running down his face and off of his chin. He sniffled and swallowed the painful lump forming in his throat. He let his hands, and Sapphire's Gem, fall into his lap so that he could stare down at them. The tears falling from his face hit the Gem's smooth blue surface.

"Why won't you come back already?" he whispered.

For a few minutes, he just sat there, cradling the Gem in his hands. He didn't care that he was missing the new episode of Crying Breakfast Friends, or that the popcorn was still on the floor, or that Opal and Ruby were still outside. He just wanted Sapphire to come back.

Eventually, he looked up towards the kitchen so that he could read the digital clock above the stove. 7:93. He really ought to get up already and clean up -

Wait a minute. _7:93?_

Steven's eyes went back to the clock. Now it read 8:29. Then 39:29. Then 00:0?. Then it was going absolutely crazy, the numbers changing every half-second until it was just a blur of bright green digits.

Outside, Opal was using an ice-pick and a rock to chisel some of the ice away from Ruby. The block had shrunk tremendously, to where it was three times smaller than it had been before. Every now and then, there'd be a gush of water from Ruby's attempts to free herself. Opal sighed and kept telling her to conserve her energy.

Suddenly, the grayish light went completely dark, and Opal paused mid-swing. The sky, which had been its usual dull evening blue just a moment before, was now a deep purple expanse dotted with twinkling stars. Not a moment later, the purple was quickly fading lighter and lighter until it was bright blue. The bright sun flew across the sky from east to west and then the sky was getting darker again. Night, dawn, day, twilight, night, dawn, day, twilight. Opal was whipping her head around wildly, trying to figure out what was going on.

Inside his Room, Steven was just freaking out. He saw the rapid change of the sky going on outside, and the clocks continued to move bizarrely. The one on the far wall was trembling as its hands spun around in black blurs.

In his panic, Steven grabbed his sling, pulled it over his head, and set Sapphire inside. Things were steadily getting worse. Now the television had come on again and was flashing nonsensical images across the screen - dead rat, doll's face, cooking show, pyramid, yellow eyes. The water faucet in the kitchen came on, and the water only poured halfway to the sink before turning upwards and spilling on the ceiling. The fruit in the baskets and bowls in the kitchen steadily rotted away into green and black mush, their odor filling the air. The doors started slamming back and forth and spider web-like cracks shattered the windows.

What made Steven's skin crawl the most was the peculiar noise filling the air. It was a low, pulsating hum like a machine, but it had no real source. It was almost as if it were coming from the sky itself.

"What's going on?" Steven cried to himself.

He felt a familiar warmth coming from his belly once more. The pink and blue gemstones on the Temple Door flashed in response. Steven quickly jumped down the steps with Sapphire's Gem securely held in the sling. He all but threw himself through the Temple Door when it opened.

Inside, it was Sapphire's Room, but everything looked...off. The grass on the floor had shriveled into gray hairs, and the trees were swaying and beating as if caught in a fierce wind despite their being none. The glass fixtures in the trees had shattered and were emitting soft wails.

Steven could dread sneaking up on him, and he ran to the wall of vines. Once inside Sapphire's cove, he pushed the basin away and looked down at the hole. Red light was rising from it.

"Why have I no patience?!" Steven cried.

He carefully lowered himself through the tunnel until it was safe enough for him to drop down. The glassy walls were pulsing red, two at a time, as if they were moving to a heartbeat. Steven ran forward and rounded the corner.

The spherical area was a dumbfounding sight to see. The panels on the walls were flashing odd shapes and symbols, almost like hieroglyphics, and everything was cast in a red light. The sphere at the middle was an angry reddish white color. Its glow was coming off in jagged spikes, and something was flying around as it it were an atom. It took a moment for Steven to realize that it was the pillar he had removed before. All the while, the pulsing hum was only growing louder.

Steven instantly put two and two together - the pillar had to go back into its place for everything to go back to normal. It was how he was going to do it that concerned him.

He took a deep breath. "I can do this!" He ran forward with a war cry...

...that quickly turned into a scream when the walkway suddenly started moving. The end of it left the mouth of the tunnel and started moving along the wall, so that Steven was now spinning around the center of the room.

He held on for as long as he could, but eventually, he lost his grip and went flying off of the walkway. Literally flying. Instead of being thrown into the wall or to the floor below, he, too, went spinning around the room in no particular pattern. For some reason, the movement wasn't nauseating at all, but it obviously wasn't pleasant.

Something blue flashed in front of his face. It took Steven a moment too late to realize that it was Sapphire's Gem, having been pulled from his sling by the gravity.

"Sapphire!"

He tried to grab it, but it was flying far out of his reach. It, too, was soon circulating around the center of the room.

Steven narrowed his eyes. "No, you don't."

He flung his weight against the direction he was sailing. There was a shift of gravity, and he was suddenly retracing his path. Sapphire's Gem paused in midair, then did the same, moving backwards. When it started flying towards Steven, he quickly grabbed it and kept it clutched in his fist.

When he was almost parallel to the sphere, Steven threw his weight forward once more. He was heading straight for it now, and the pillar that was wildly orbiting around it. He'd just have to be lucky and hope that he managed to grab it instead of being pierced by it.

Steven shut his eyes and held his hands out. He felt something, and immediately closed his hands around it. It was the pillar, now in his hands, but it was hardly a victory. The sphere's glow was now angrily lashing all throughout the room, hitting the walls in flurries of hot red sparks. The pulsing humming was now a loud wail, and whatever light the room was getting starting going in and out like a slow strobe light.

Outside, Opal was trying her best to hold onto Ruby as gravity fell away and they began to rise into the air. Gone were the twinkling stars and orange sunsets - now the sky was almost painfully white, like lightning that wasn't going away. Everything was lifting into the air, from the water to the sand to whatever else was lying around on the beach.

Steven grabbed hold of the walkway when it came back in his direction. He sprawled out so that his hands and feet were gripping either side tight enough for him not to go flying off again. He crawled his way to the center of the room where the sphere awaited. The wail was painfully loud now, a blaring siren too much for his ears to handle for much longer.

Finally, he came to the remaining four stones and lifted the pillar upwards. As he pushed it in, the wailing became white noise, the light flashed quickly, and everything went blurry.

Then, nothing.

For some unknown amount of time, Steven was left in a blank state. No sound, no sight, no taste. No feeling either, in any portion of his body. Even his breath had stopped.

Then, he was back on the smooth floor.

He lifted his head up and looked around. The room was just as it had been before - smooth blank walls, five stones in the floor, and the sphere hovering quietly above. Sapphire's Gem was still nestled in his sling. Everything was perfectly fine.

Steven sighed heavily and let himself lie on the walkway. "I don't even want to know anymore."

* * *

"STEVEN!"

The Temple Door had closed shut not a second before Opal and Ruby came flying into the Room. The ice around Ruby had digressed so that her head and arms were poking out, but everything from the neck down was still imprisoned. They both looked frazzled, with wide eyes and hanging jaws. Opal kept Ruby under her arm as she ran to Steven.

"Are you okay?!" she asked.

"What was that?!" Ruby demanded.

"I don't want to know," replied Steven. "And if *I* don't want to know, YOU don't want to know. Y'know?"

Opal and Ruby looked at one another, their eyes showing both confusion and panic.

"Anyway." Steven walked to the sofa and pulled one of the pillows from the armrest. He placed it in the center of the sofa and gently set Sapphire's Gem on top. "Everything is going to be okay and I can be patient. Sapphire's going to come back eventually, and I'm going to sit right here - " He plopped down onto the table. " - until she does. And I don't care if it takes hours or days or - "

Sapphire's Gem lit up bright blue.

" - ten seconds."

The Gem slowly lifted up from the pillow. From it, pale blue light spread out through the air. At first, it was an indistinguishable white silhouette. But soon, everyone could see thin arms, the bell shape of a skirt, and thick hair that went from short to long.

The Gem finally stopped glowing, and Sapphire was there once again. Both her hair and her skin had become lighter shades of blue. The gloves on her hands, once black, were now snowy white, and her short sleeves were now perfect circles. The bodice of her dress had gone from a sweetheart neckline to a dark pinafore with a lighter strip going down the middle. There was still a strip of cloth hanging down the front of her skirt, still depicting half of a star at the bottom.

Sapphire gently lowered back down onto the pillow. She sat on her legs with her hands in her lap. She and Steven were facing one another, Steven with a look of surprise and Sapphire with her usual stoic face.

Steven's open mouth eventually lifted into a smile. He held out his arms. "Welcome back hug?"

Sapphire's straight lips curved upwards as well, and she held up her arms. "Welcome back hug."

They held each other close, patting each other on the back and running their fingers through their hair. Eventually, they pulled back, and Sapphire leaned forward to plant a kiss against Steven's forehead. Steven chuckled and blushed bashfully.

Sapphire turned away from him, and her content smile dropped instantly. The kitchen was soaked in water on every surface. The fruits were rotten in their baskets and bowls. The windows were shattered and every door was ajar. Opal was smiling kindly at her, while Ruby was sullenly glaring at nothing whilst encased in a chunk of ice.

Steven sheepishly chuckled. "Can't live without ya, eh, Sapphire?"

He laughed. Sapphire continued to stare blankly around the room.


	14. The Room

It was windy - too windy.

Madame Boudier sighed as another breeze swept at her white sunhat, almost lifting it from her head. Figures, the day she wears her pearls and silk gloves is the same day that the wind decides to pick up. Her white heels clicked against the stairs as she walked up to the building. Most of her dark hair was pulled away in a tight bun, tucked underneath her hat. The loose strands whipped around in the breeze. There's no one around, thankfully - no one to follow her.

As she came to the door of the office, she spotted a man leaning against the wall beside it. He was a mysterious, almost shady-looking fellow. He was in a heavy tweed jacket and had a fedora pulled so far down his head that she couldn't see his eyes. His arms were crossed, one foot folded over the other. If he had noticed her, he made no sign of showing it. 'Intimidating', Madame Boudier thought to herself. But it wasn't a compliment of any sort.

She approached the man and looked him up and down with her dark eyes. She didn't try to conceal the judgment in her gaze nor her voice. "YOU'RE Detective Lowery?"

The man raised his fingers to the brim of his hat and lifted it up. Brown eyes bore into her, cold and calculating. He flicked the toothpick in his teeth and spoke from the corner of his mouth. "That's me."

Madame Boudier hummed. "You're not the detective I was expecting."

Detective Lowery sighed and glowered away from her. "That's what they all say." He leaned forward from the wall and turned to her. He removed the chewed toothpick from his teeth and flicked it over the side of the balcony carelessly. He rose a thick eyebrow at her and asked, "You got my payment?"

Madame Boudier snapped open the small clutch in her hands. She pulled out a small box, no larger than her palm, and handed it out to the Detective to take. He slid it open and pulled out one of the small white sticks inside before shutting it close again. He placed it between his lips and tucked the box into the pocket of his pants.

"I've never seen a detective take candy sticks as a payment."

He removed it from his lips to speak. Half of it was already bitten off. "The less you talk about my methods, the easier this is going to be."

Madame Boudier didn't reply to that and instead asked, "I do hope that you've got a plan for this."

Detective Lowery scoffed at her worry. The look she gave him was pinning. "With all due respect, Madame, I've been doing this for years. Ain't nothing going to happen in here that I haven't seen before. Besides, I know Bud. He's a good guy...If you know what to tell him." Seeing Madame Boudier's look of uncertainty, he sighed yet again and reached for the door. "Just stay close to me and be careful 'bout what you say, okay doll?" He pauses. "I apologize. That was rude and inappropriate of me."

At Madame Boudier's wave of forgiveness, Detective Lowery pulled the doorknob. The wood creaked open from years of wear, and she cast one last look over her shoulder. He muttered to her, "Here we go."

They swung the door open and stepped inside the office side-by-side.

"Hello, Steven!"

Detective Lowe - er, 'Steven' frowned at the greeting. He removed the fedora from his curls (they had become misshapen underneath) and looked up at Opal. "I'm Detective Lowery, not Steven."

Opal winced apologetically with one blue eye winking as she did so. "Ooh, right. Sorry."

Steven sighed in disappointment. Beside him, Madame Boudier A.K.A. Connie removed her sunhat to tweak at her bun. She was dressed in the whole getup, including a prim blue sundress, while all Steven had for a costume was his fedora and tweed jacket. He was still dressed in his signature T-shirt and pink sandals. Steven looked around at the other Gems in the office...well, his Room.

"None of you guys are in costume!" He looked up at Opal. "You're supposed to be Sabine, the widowed wife of the late Lord Bardwell." He looked over at Sapphire, standing almost in the dead center of the room as calmly as ever. "You're supposed to be Lady Cordance, the mysterious owner of the spittoon who knows more than she's letting on." He turned to Ruby in the kitchen as she put up the step-stool into the corner. "And you're supposed to be Bud, the longtime frenemy of Detective Lowery who tries not to get involved but always ends up getting involved. Did everyone forget the rehearsals?"

Ruby sighed as she walked past him. She clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Steve. We have a mission we need to go take care of."

Connie furrowed her thick brows, not so much out of anger as much as curiosity. As Ruby moved away, she asked, "How often do you guys go on missions?"

"Almost daily," Opal casually replied. She frowned down at Steven with two arms folded and the other two on her hips. She looked just as disappointed as he did. "We're sorry, Steven. We can do it some other time."

"You can't wait until later?"

"It's better to go ahead and get it over with," Ruby answered. She, Sapphire, and Opal went to the Warp Pad and took their places on the smooth surface. Steven was starting to get tired of seeing the image.

Just as the Pad came to life, and the crystalline structure lit up, Sapphire told him, "Later."

Steven hardly got the word "But - !" out before the curtains of light engulfed them. It warped their images into purplish silhouettes. Then they were gone. It was only Steven and Connie in the Room now.

Steven sulkily finished his sentence with, " - you promised."

He huffed and stomped to the steps up to his loft. After three day's worth of rehearsals, costume designing, and adapting Connie's favorite mystery novel ( _The Blank Tombstone_ ) into a play format, the Crystal Gems had assured him that they were all set to do it. But they had once again gone out for a mission. Given, they were letting him join them more than they used to, but they were just as often leaving him behind to go catch another Gem Monster. There wasn't even a point in telling him when they'd be back anymore - it could take anywhere from thirty minutes to three days.

"Hey!" When he was going to put up his fedora, he had completely forgotten about Connie's presence. She stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him. A concerned but warm frown marked her face. "You okay?"

He sighed again. "I'm fine." He shrugged off his tweed jacket and reached for a hanger from his closet. "I just get really miffed when the Gems disappear like this."

Connie click-click-clicked her way up the stairs to join him. Her other clothes were at the foot of his bed in a neat, square pile. As she removed her heels and rubbed at her soles, she told him, "They do seem really busy saving the world and everything."

"But a promise is a promise," insisted Steven. He held up a finger and told her, "Dad says that promise breakers are troublemakers."

Connie hummed as she pulled off her gloves and folded them together. "Your Dad sure does have a lot of sayings, huh?"

Steven shrugged. "He's wise." He sighed and fell back on the plump comforter of his bed. One of the pillows at the head toppled over. Connie pulled her hair out of its bun and shook out the long, dark locks until they fell around her waist once more. "If wanting your family to take some time to hang out with you, then arrest me, Connie - I'm a criminal."

He held his hands up with his wrists exposed for the cuffs. Connie, now only wearing her sundress, as she had removed her string of fake pearls as well, rolled her eyes and pushed them down to his chest. She fell down beside him, causing him to bounce at the added weight. "You're not a criminal. I'm sure the Gems try hard to put time aside for you."

Steven looked up at the ceiling. He could see the small glow-in-the-dark stars above, now just simple shapes in the bright sunlight filtering from the windows. "I just wish we could do things MY way for a change."

He closed his eyes shut after that so that the image of stars became obscured into darkness. He was perfectly content to just lie there with Connie and wallow in silent self-pity for a good quarter-hour or two. Or take a nap - it was a very comfortable bed. Instead, Connie was suddenly jabbing at his side, jolting him. "Steven, your Gem!"

He pulled up his shirt to see at the same time that that familiar warmth spread through his belly. Sure enough, the Gem in the middle of his belly was lit up brightly. It wasn't the powerful light he had when he had summoned his shield that one time. Instead, this one was familiar, but how, he wasn't sure.

"Look!"

He followed Connie's pointing finger with his eyes. On the other side of the Room, past the Warp Pad and at the Temple Door, the pink gemstone on the five-pointed star was alight. Steven remembered back to when Sapphire was regenerating some time ago and how his Gem had activated the Door to Sapphire's Room. Both the pink gemstone and the blue one had lit up. Put it was only the pink one that was lit up now, no others reacting the same.

He and Connie exchanged a glance at one another before quickly running down the stairs. They almost fell down in their haste. The gemstone glowed brighter as he approached, until it was almost pink-white. The door suddenly pulled upwards from the bottom. Steven wasn't sure what was beyond it. It looked like nothing but pink fluff and light. He took a curious step forward and reached inside, only to find that he couldn't grasp the pink stuff. It was almost as if it were clouds or steam. What kind of room was it?

"What is it?" asked Connie. She reached out to wiggle her fingers inside.

"I have no idea," replied Steven. He took a step forward. "But I'm going to find out!"

Connie protested, but he kept walking forward. The wall of pink clouds dispersed around him as he marched through. He looked around once he was on the other side, his eyes free from obscurity. It was like he was in the sky during early sunset. The 'floor' of the area was hard enough to kept him upright and supported, but other than that, it was pink and white clouds as far as the eye could see. There was no end or limits to the 'room', and for a moment he wondered if it were actually a room and not a portal to somewhere else. Silence rang in his ears.

He heard Connie worriedly calling after him, and turned around to call back, "It's okay! You can come in!"

A moment later, Connie was standing beside him. She gasped as she looked around in wonder. The scene before her reflected off the lens of her glasses. "What is this place?"

"I still have no idea." He looked around at the pinkness of the room, then down at his Gem. It was lifeless now, and his reflection looked back at him. The Door had probably disappeared behind them, as well. "Maybe this is my mom's old room."

Connie furrowed her brows curiously. "Your mom?"

"Rose Quartz," Steven told her. He had already informed her of the former Crystal Gem's passing, of how she gave up her physical form for him, and now the other Crystal Gems were raising him in her place. They hadn't talked about her since he had spilled out all the information to her. He'd forgotten to mention her actual name at the time, however. "I didn't know I'd be able to come in here."

Connie walked beside him and looked out at the expanse. It was a cathartic scene, so peaceful and perfect. There was no sound, no disturbance. It was a lovely sight to see, and she felt calm by the sight. She sighed contently. "It's so beautiful."

"Yeah," Steven agreed. He, too, looked around them. He'd often wondered what it would be like to be up in the clouds, sans the risk of falling to your death (like before). The sight made him feel small, but not in a bad way. It really was tranquil. "...Buuuuut it's also super boring."

Connie shrugged one shoulder. "Yeah."

Steven scanned the room with his eyes. There were no objects, no furniture, not even a wall to see. The others' rooms didn't have furniture either, but they had all some form of an object - frosty trees, piles upon piles of collections, a huge pit of hot fire in the middle. As lovely as it was, the room was quite literally a wide expanse of nothing. It was calm, but frankly a bit lackluster.

"Is there nothing here?" he wondered aloud. Of course, no one answered him.

Connie tried to look around, but frowned at the clouds that were passing around them. They were mostly at her knees, but flares of them would rise up and obscure her sight. She sighed and fanned them away from their face. "I wish there was a way to clear out these things."

When a cloud swept in and invaded Steven's vision as well, he replied with a huff, "Yeah, me, too."

At the sound of his voice, the clouds were suddenly pulling away by an invisible force. Steven and Connie huddled together expectantly. Instead, the clouds just vanished and let them be. Nothing and no one emerged. They were now standing in a twenty-foot clearing.

"Did it just...hear you?" wondered Connie. She kept turning her head to see what was going on.

Steven hummed thoughtfully. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "I want...everything to turn purple!"

The result was instant. All the pink in the room faded away in favor of the new color. Now they stood in a field of indigo's and violets and lavenders. Behind him, Connie gasped in awe. Steven paused, then called "Now I want it blue!" Everything went cobalt, cyan, and pastel blue at once. Still, other than the change of hues, everything else remained the same.

Curiously, Connie called out, "I want it to be orange!"

However, nothing happened at her request. After waiting for several moments, Steven eventually concluded, "Maybe it just listens to me?" Experimentally, he called, "I want everything to be orange!"

And of course, everything changed. Steven's theory proved correct. Now it really looked like they were in the clouds during sunset, with everything the color of orange sherbet. Steven put his hands on his hips, proud of his work. "Well, well, well."

Connie turned to him with a bemused smirk. "What 'cha well-ing about?"

"This room can do whatever I tell it to!" He cupped a hand around his mouth. "I want a giant purple elephant!"

Almost instantaneously, a ten-foot-tall creature with leathery purple skin, floppy ears, and a long trunk materialized in front of them. Its trunk swung upwards as it trumpeted. It almost looked like it was 'smiling'. Connie squealed in delight and ran forward with an outstretched hand. The elephant allowed her to grasp its trunk in her palm. Connie was practically dancing on her toes.

"Now I want a double-decker limousine!"

The elephant vanished in a puff of clouds and was replaced by his request. A two-decked, sleek black limousine stood before them with its door open for entry. Inside, they could see smooth red seats and bright LED lights. Music poured out from inside. Connie 'ooh'-ed at the sight.

"Now I want a...a..." He paused thoughtfully. Of course the time when you can have everything in the world is the same time that you forget what you want! "A huge French fry!"

The limousine burst into clouds. A French fry twice Steven's height towered over them. Steven could see salt and golden-brown crisp on it, as if it were literally just an average fry that had been enlarged. Steven reached forward and tore out part of it. It was almost too hot in his hand. "Coooooool!"

He raised the handful to his face, but jumped when he suddenly felt something pop in front of his mouth and air rush past his cheeks. He had his eyes closed, so he tried again with his eyes open. The second that it came into contact with his teeth, the fry burst into clouds. Steven huffed. "Not coooool."

"Steven!" He turned to Connie when she called, and nearly toppled over when she all but pounced on him. Her faces hovered just a few mere inches from his, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses and a smile almost splitting her face in half. Her cheeks were flushed with delight. "Do you know what this means?"

"Yes." Steven looked down at his hands somberly. "This is too much power for one man to hold."

"What? No." Connie put her hands in his so that he looked back up at her. She was still smiling as brightly as ever. "We can create _The Blank Tombstone_ in here! We can set up the entire city of Londis! We can make the spittoon and the office and we can be Madame Boudier and Detective Lowery for realsies!"

Steven gasped and beamed at her. His hands instinctively held hers tighter. "For realsies?!"

"YES!"

Steven pulled back and turned to no-one in particular. "Room! We're going to do our play! I want to make the city of Londis from 'The Blank Tombstone'!"

He blinked once, and gasped in wonder when he opened his eyes. Connie let out a laugh of joy behind him.

They now stood outside the office of 'BUD R. MANNIGAN', judging by the dilapidated sign hanging above the wooden door. A single lamp from beside it cast them in light. They stood on top of the patio, and the wooden stairs led down to the asphalt street below. It was nighttime, and all up and down the street they saw offices and buildings illuminated under golden streetlamps. To the other side, the road ended abruptly at the bay. The dark, salty water at the ocean reflected the stars' light until it was obscured by the fog on the horizon.

Steven himself was delighted, but frowned when he saw their attire. They were still dressed as Steven and Connie. "Now the outfits!"

Wind seemed to wrap around him at his request. He flinched on instinct, but only grinned wider when he opened his eyes once more. He was now wearing a full tweed suit, with leather pads at the elbows and loafers on his feet. He had the fedora on his head and just above his lip was a tiny mustache (fake, much to his disappointment).

But Connie looked even better. Much like before, she wore white heels, gloves, and a sunhat. But now, the dress perfectly matched one found in 20th century Londis, a blue one with delicate lace and beads all around the waist and cuffs. The pearls around her neck could easily be mistaken for real ones. Even her glasses had become white. Her dark hair was once again neatly tucked into her hat.

Steven cleared his throat and put on a deep voice. "Are you ready to come in, Madame Boudier?"

Connie responded by placing a posh lilt to her tone. "Why certainly, Detective."

The two of them snickered to one another, then Steven pushed the door to the office open. It creaked loudly as it moved.

Inside, the office was just as darkly lit as everything else. The windows had grates over them, and every surface was covered in a collection of files and papers, it seemed. The floorboards whined under their steps. A few moths fluttered around the single light-bulb in the ceiling. A wooden desk sat at the other end of the room, but the leather chair behind it was barren.

Steven cupped a hand around his mouth and called, "Hey, Bud! I've got to talk to you!"

His voice was met with silence. Steven bemusedly looked left and right, then craned his neck to see if he could find Lowery's old partner. But it was just him and Connie in the office, and the silence rang in their ears.

The snap of Connie's gloved fingers eventually broke it. "Maybe you have to ask for the characters?"

Steven nodded and looked upwards. "We need all the characters, too!"

There was a puff, and now Bud sat in the chair behind the desk. Connie gasped - it was just like how she pictured him! He was a squat man, with dark furry hair around his square jaw and skin that was permanently flushed red. He had the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows to show off his furry and muscular arms. He scoffed when he looked at Steven. "When I said stay away from me, I wasn't kidding, Victor."

Steven and Connie exchanged a look of surprise. That was exactly what Bud was supposed to say! Then Steven forced his expression to stay stony as he countered back, "I know when you're kidding, Bud. You actually SMILE when you're kidding."

Bud growled and pushed his chair back so that the legs scraped against the wood. He leaned forward on his desk, but Steven wasn't scared. He knew that Bud wasn't going to hurt Lowery, even if he threatened to. "Go ahead and tell me why you're here before I ask you to please leave."

Steven gestured to Connie, who curtsied to the retired investigator. "Madame Boudier. Says she's got a case on her hands and she needs us to lend..." Steven flicked his fedora up. "A hand."

Bud sat back down on his leather seat. He glowered at Steven and Connie with harsh judgment in his dark eyes. "And why would I say yes to that?" He paused. "No, really, I'm curious. Why?"

"It's a three-way split for the prize money," said Steven. He looked down at his fingernails. "I figured a third for each of us is about...a half-million?"

Bud's gaze only intensified. "No amount of money is going to get me to come crawling back to you!"

Steven shrugged. "A million?"

"I know I just said 'no amount of money' just five seconds ago, but now I've changed my mind. I'm in."

* * *

When they stepped back out of the office, Steven and Connie were giggling. Bud trailed behind them, his boots hitting the steps and then the road harshly. All around, the fake streets of Londis were alive. Automobiles honked as they whizzed by. Men and women, dressed in suits and petticoats and tall hats, created a murmur of noise. The windows of the buildings were lit with activity. Now they really WERE in Londis.

Connie held up a hand to whisper to Steven, "This is amazing!"

"I know!" Steven sighed in content. He still somewhat wished that the Crystal Gems hadn't left them behind as they did, but heck if this wasn't a million times better. "I wish we could do this forever!"

The three of them continued their way down the street. As they did, they were unaware of even the smallest details that the room had conjured. That room in that building was totally furnished. That horse driving that carriage would kept walking for three streets. That woman over there had stopped moving. Half of this car was missing. The lights on one of the advertisements were flickering wildly...

They eventually came to Lady Cordance's spittoon. It was a musty sort of place. Everything was in a haze, and suspicious-looking men were at a game of pool on one end of the room. Wooden tables and chairs took up most of the space, and one ceiling fan moved as slow as molasses overhead.

At the bar were two familiar people. Lady Cordance stood behind the bar with a rag and a glass in hand. She was a tall woman, with sleek dark hair pulled away from her face and a black eyepatch covering her right eye due to an accident that was only detailed in Chapter 23. Sabine sat at one of the stools, her legs crossed and her back as straight as a needle. Sabine was commonly compared to a swan in the book - she was very pale, with a long neck and a longer nose.

Lady Cordance only glanced at them as they approached. "What do ya want, Bud? A freebie for your guests?"

Bud scoffed at the thought. "Hardly. This is Madame Boudier and Loud-Mouth Lowery."

Lady Cordance's gaze dropped down to them. "So what do yOOOOOOOOuu two want?"

Connie and Steven frowned. Lady Cordance's voice had gone from its usual mocking tone to suddenly very deep and distorted, then back again. However, she just kept looking at them with her one eye, so Steven just said, "We want to ask you a couple of questions."

Lady Cordance rolled her eye. "Figures. WAnt tO Ask thE bOttOm-fEEdErs sOmE qUEstIOns, Is thAt It?"

Connie and Steven took a step back on instinct. Now Lady Cordance's voice was rising and falling, bursting into static-like sounds sometimes, going mute in others. Steven looked around the spittoon. The balls on the pool table were hovering a few inches off of the actual surface. One of the men had his body pressed against a wall, but kept walking regardless. The fan on the ceiling wasn't so much spinning anymore as much as occasionally changing positions every now and then.

"Uh..." Steven lightly took Connie's hand and stepped back slowly. Sabine's image flickered in and out. Bud disappeared from existence, then came back a moment later. "Weeeee should be going now. Heh-heh..."

Detective Lowery would originally say 'Where were you last Thursday?' Lady Cordance kept talking as if he had said that instead. "What's it to yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo - "

Steven and Connie kept slowly walking backwards. Steven looked up at the ceiling and gave a broken chuckle. "Y-You can stop it now, Mom's Room. You can stop." When Lady Cordance continued to drone on, he called a touch louder, "Please stop!"

Everything in the room froze instantly. The fan stopped moving. The man against the wall stopped walking. A ball rolling along the pool table stopped spinning. Even the smoke and bugs in the air became pinned to nothing. Sabine, Lady Cordance, and Bud were as still as statues. The only things left moving were Connie and Steven, who craned their necks left and right in confusion.

Steven could feel chills of dread running up his spine. Connie must have been feeling the same thing, because she inched closer to her friend so that their sides touched. She nervously clenched the skirt of her dress in her hands and murmured to him, "Do you think it's glitching out?"

"It's a room," countered Steven. But even he didn't sound very sure. "Rooms don't glitch out, right? Uh...How about we come back later? I'm hungry for some turkey sandwiches, anyway."

At his words, several loaves of bread materialized before them and hit the floor of the spitoon, white slices falling everywhere. Before Connie and Steven could even react, it was followed by several whole green cabbages and about two gallons' worth of white mayonnaise plopping down on top of the pile. Then this was topped with a turkey...a real turkey, with feathers and a beak, that squaked at them curiously before pecking at the mess beneath it. Steven and Connie, with their eyebrows and cheeks drawn together into baffled expressions, dashed for the door.

They walked out of the spittoon together, then stopped on the sidewalk. Everything outside was frozen, too, from the passing people to carriage horses to windblown newspapers and barrels full of fire. It was too eerie for either of their liking. They weren't afraid - not yet. But that didn't stop Steven from calling out to the Room.

"I want to leave now!"

The scene of Londis stayed where it was, untouched and still. Steven tried again with, "Show me the Door! I want to see the Door!" Still no response. Steven huffed and looked around for anything new. Nope. "Ravioli! Ravioli! Show me the door-vuoli!"

When once again, nothing appeared, Connie shrugged her shoulders and gently told him, "It was worth a shot."

Steven hummed anxiously. He tried to retrace their steps with his head. They had gone from the Door to a little clearing that turned into the patio of Bud's office. He pointed a finger in the direction of the fictional investigator's building. "We just need to go back, right?"

The lights in the city flickered out all at once. The only light source they now held were the imaginary stars and velvet sky above them. Everything was cast in bluish highlights, so the people all around them looked like dark statues. The dread that had crept up on Steven before was now clutching him tighter. Connie took a hold on his forearm.

Steven wasted no more time in dashing for Bud's office with Connie in hand. Things continued to just get weirder the more they walked. Every person they had to brush against to pass vanished at their touch. The horses on the carriages had disappeared, too, but their yolks were still held upright. The stars were starting to blink out one-by-one. Steven wasn't about to be caught in this place in pitch-darkness, so he and Connie kept walking.

As they kept walking, they found that the Room was apparently still trying to keep the story going. When they turned the corner, they saw the frozen figures of Bud and Patriarch (the villain of the story) leaning against the wall of a building. Passing by a French restaurant, they saw Lady Cordance and Lord Bardwell speaking in a discussion so quickly that their words were little more than high-pitched squeaks. As they walked down the last street, they saw the figure of Sabine as she slowly fell from the broken window in the direction of the mattress truck below.

They came to the bay at long last. Even the waves of the ocean were held still mid-crest. It looked more like dark glass than water now. The fog that obscured the horizon from sight still held its place. Steven figured that the Door must have been behind it. He knelt down and touched the water with his hands. It crumbled like slush in his hands - solid, yet they wouldn't be able to walk across it.

He didn't want to ask the Room to do anything else, but he still called out, "I want a boat!"

At once, a small toy boat with a tiny sail appeared in his awaiting hands. Steven smiled dryly. "Ha, ha. That's funny." He dropped the toy, and as it burst into pink clouds at his feet, he called, "I WANT A BIGGER BOAT."

Another toy boat appeared beside them, but this one was about twice Steven's height and was long enough for him and Connie to both sit on. He sighed in relief and pushed it off the road into the bay water. It hit the surface with a slushy splash, and he began to climb down. It rocked underneath his feet. "Let's go, Connie!"

"STEVEN, HELP!"

Steven span around and nearly choked. Connie was being held by whom he could only assume was Patriarch, a buzzard-like man with an extremely pointed chin and a broken monocle over his right eye. He had an arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her off the ground and crushing her to him, while he pointed his walking cane at Steven. A small silver blade was jutting at the end, and whether it was made of clouds or not, Steven was pretty gosh-darn sure it was as sharp as a razor.

"HOW'S THIS FOR COMEBACKS, LOWERY?!" This was the line that Patriarch taunted Detective Lowery with as he kidnapped Madame Boudier. However, instead of the Londisian accent that he was supposed to say it with, it came out as a loud roar instead. He raised his cane and swung it down so that it sharply cracked against the road.

Instantly, a large straw basket with several dangling sandbags and a small door appeared at his side. The basket was connected to a massive white-and-black balloon, but the stripes kept changing opposite color every few seconds. "RANDOM HOT AIR BALLOON EX MACHINA."

Patriarch tossed Connie into the basket, where she landed with a winded squeak on her back. He hopped inside after her and shut the small door before giving the rope above him a harsh tug. The flame inside the balloon roared up, and as a nonexistent wind blew, it went sliding into the streets of Londis. Connie stood up and leaned over the side to call, "STEVEN!"

Steven didn't waste a second to go running after the air balloon. It wasn't picking up height yet, and was instead hovering ten or so feet off of the pavement. A length of rope was hanging from the side, almost brushing against the brick roads, which was what Lowery latched onto in the story. The carriages and people were now gone, too, so he could keep his eyes on his target.

"No!" he called. "Don't take...! Don't take h...!" He slowed down just a fraction of a second to catch his breath. "Man, I'm really out of shape."

Connie exasperatedly snapped, "Steven!"

"Sorry!"

As he went back to chasing after them, Connie rounded on Patriarch. He still had a hand on the fire-rope, and his eyes were unblinkingly looking out at the streets before him. She removed the gloves from her hands and tossed them away before reeling her arm back. She swung a fist at him and would have hit him quite harshly if he hadn't disappeared at her touch. But then the clouds just fused right back together, and he formed again. No matter what Connie tried (scratching, biting, punching, every self-defense move her father had taught her), Patriarch kept coming back the the fire-rope could not be budged.

"Runrunrunrunrunrunrun - DIVE!"

Steven leaped forward for the rope and caught it in his hands in a tight grip. He whooped in victory, but it was short-lived.

Suddenly, everything - the streets, the buildings, the streetlamps, the trash bins, even the sky - vanished. Steven, Connie, Patriarch and the hot air balloon were left in a black void, with no depth, no walls, no limits. Steven was left dangling helplessly by the rope, never letting go for fear of falling forever. A moment later, everything from before was drifting past them. People, carriages, streetlamps, purple elephants, giant French fries...They were floating around aimlessly. Every now and then, the black void would flicker like static, bursts of color flashing and going white.

Steven kept his grip tight on the rope as he climbed upwards. Connie called for him, and he looked up. Patriarch was leaning over the side of the basket with the blade of his cane pressed against the rope. He kept bursting and fusing back, courtesy of Connie trying fruitlessly to stop him. The blade went to tearing at the rope's fibers - Steven blanched.

His first instinct was to say "STOP!", but that would just freeze everything. Then he thought about saying "I want us to leave", but the Door hadn't appeared before, so it probably wouldn't now, either. So instead, he finally called, "I want to talk to you!"

His request was complied with Patriarch laughing loudly and taunting in his distorted voice, "Have a nice fall, Lowery!"

"No," Steven shouted back. "I want to talk to YOU."

Patriarch's face changed from his twisted, cocky grin to completely flat and still. He could be mistaken for a wax figurine. Connie stopped her attempts to poof him and just stared up at him bemusedly. He wasn't trying to cut the rope any longer, and instead just stared down at Steven.

Deciding that he had listened, Steven called, "Why won't you let us go?!"

Patriarch's face never left its stoniness, but when he spoke, it was not his distorted voice, it was Steven's. "I wish we could do this forever!"

Steven and Connie both groaned. So not only was this a crazy sentient Room, it was a literal-minded one, too.

Steven kept his legs wrapped around the rope and removed one hand to cup it around his mouth. "I change my mind! DON'T want to be here forever! I want you to let Connie and I leave NOW!"

Patriarch stared down at Steven. One by one, everything flying around them blinked away. The black void was going white, so quickly and brightly that Steven and Connie had to squeeze their eyes shut. The rope in Steven's grasp disappeared, leaving him not quite falling, not quite rising.

Then he heard a voice. A smooth, almost musical voice that he had never heard before yet felt all too familiar.

"Whatever you want...Steven."

* * *

"We're home!"

Ruby hopped down from the Warp Pad with the Bubbled Gem in her hand. She sent it away to her room and put her hands on her hips as she looked around quizzically. She was dressed in brownish dress pants and a newsboy cap, with the sleeves of her button-up shirt rolled up to her elbows. Behind her, Sapphire was dressed in a long-sleeved smooth black dress with a leather corset around her waist, and Opal was in a white gown with maybe a bit too much lace and beads.

"Steven?" Opal called. "We're back! We can do the play now!"

Ruby looked up at his loft and noticed the large lump underneath the comforter of his bed. She sighed and quickly stepped up the stairs, her shoes making quick pitter-pats, while saying, "You're not mad at us, are you?"

She poked at the lump, but frowned when her finger sank into it a bit too much. She grabbed a fistful of it and tugged. Underneath, there was nothing but pillows and blankets - no Steven. She raised a brow and turned to the others, who were expectantly looking up at her from the living room. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe he's in the bathroom?" Opal disappeared from sight as she went into the small hallway near the front door. There was a soft 'click' of a light switch. A moment later, her voice called, "Not a single Steven here."

Ruby stroked her chin curiously. She turned to Sapphire and called, "Check the fridge!"

Sapphire obeyed and briskly strode over to the fridge. She pulled it open, the cool air washing over the floorboards, and reached inside. A moment later, she withdrew a plate stacked with cold turkey sandwiches protected by cellophane. Opal gasped just a Ruby landed on the first floor and dashed over. She took the plate of sandwiches from Sapphire, her face showing disbelief. "He always eats my turkey sandwiches!"

Sapphire put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "I know. It's okay."

Opal walked past them to the kitchen counter for the phone. She looked up at the piece of paper depicting a list of contact numbers taped to the wall and began dialing. "I'm going to call Greg and see if they - "

She stopped as she looked up and suddenly froze. Ruby and Sapphire curiously turned around. The Temple Door was pulling away, revealing masses of pink fluff as it disappeared into the ceiling. Nothing immediately appeared, and they waited in utter bewilderment. That Door hadn't opened for years, why was it suddenly - ?

Everyone jumped in surprise when Steven and Connie practically burst out of the door and hit the floor outside. They landed in a heap, sighing in relief. The Door closed shut behind them.

The Crystal Gems ran to their sides, lifting them to their feet. Opal, with her hands on Steven's shoulders, was the first to ask, "You opened the Temple Door?"

Steven's "Yeah" came out full of regret.

"What happened?" inquired Ruby. She took a glance at Connie, and although her voice was not full of anger or prejudice, she told him, "You know the Temple is a dangerous place for humans to be in!"

Steven and Connie quickly filled them in on the whole story. They began from when the Crystal Gems had left to the point when the Room finally released them. The Crystal Gems' facial expressions went from surprise to interest to fearful shock as they went on. When they concluded their tales, Steven and Connie were both out of breath.

"Rose's Room isn't meant to conjure that much," stated Sapphire.

Opal sighed and ran a hand through Steven's hair. She gave him a patient smile. "At least you're okay."

"Now." Ruby stood to her feet and placed her fists on her hips. "Are Madame Boudier and Detective Lowery ready?"

Instead of enthusiastic agreement, Connie and Steven looked at one another. After a moment's silence, Steven said, "I just want to be 'Steven' for a while."

Connie nodded fervently, dark hair flying everywhere. "Same."


	15. The Spotlight

"Let's get ready to RUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!" Steven whispered cheers and screams under his breath. In his right hand, he was holding one of the sparkly microphone controllers from his _Kissy Kissy Karaoke_ game. He stood in the middle of a makeshift fighting ring on the sand just outside his Room. The borders of the ring were represented by thick lines in the white sand and whatever boulders and rocks he could find. Outside the ring, he had his small boom box playing a heavy rock metal song perfect for the occasion. "In this corner, we have the Red Rebel, the Fiery Fury, the Crimson Crusher, _RUBY!_ "

Ruby flexed her short but toned arms for the invisible, nonexistent audience. The wind from the ocean made the ends of her hairband whip around. Steven whispered more cheers and praise under his breath.

"And in this corner, we have the Stony Skinner, the Rocky Renegade, the Beefy Boulder, _ROCKEFELLER_!"

In the corner opposite of Ruby were three sizable stones stacked one atop the other like a stony snowman. His face consisted of two dots for eyes, a wobbly line for a frown, and a sharp 'V' for furrowed brows, all made by black permanent marker. Steven imitated booing and hissing for the audience. Ruby pointed at her opponent, then at her, then collided her fist into her other open palm.

"These two foes have two minutes to annihilate each other TO THE DEATH or until really badly hurt." Steven stepped out of the ring to the sideline and pulled the egg-timer out of his pocket. He twisted it to the two-minute mark and held it in place as he called, "Ready..."

Ruby summoned her gauntlets onto her forearms. Rockefeller continued to glower at her stonily.

"...FIGHT!"

Ruby charged at the immobile enemy with a war cry. She swung her right arm at his midsection, sending the two top stones toppling over. She grabbed a hold of his head and began to squeeze it together. Her arms trembled with force. Small cracks and fissures spread from either end, emitting soft clicks as they did so.

Meanwhile, Steven narrated her actions into the microphone. "Ruby has a hold! She's squeezing and squeezing and - AND - !"

The stone in Ruby's hands finally gave way, falling apart into chunks and shards. They fell to the sand at her feet. She quickly wiped the remaining dust of of her gloved hands.

Steven was absolutely ecstatic from the sidelines. "One down, two to go, a minute and a half left! Can she do it? CAN SHE?!" He stopped to turn to an invisible camera. "This commentary is provided to you by Opal Juice." He reached down and lifted up a bottle of the orange-yellow liquid. "'Fruity Fresh!'"

Ruby turned to the midsection next. This one was bigger, about to her hips, and wouldn't come apart in her hands. So she pushed it over just a touch, farther from the borders of the ring, and held up her gauntlets. One strike went here, another went there. Here, here, and here, too. Cracks appeared and chips fell away at each strike. Steven called that maybe Rockefeller still had a chance. Ruby laughed at that.

With one last blow, the boulder began to collapse. She went to striking it into halves, then thirds, then fifths, until it lay in about a dozen chunks and countless pebbles on the sand. The 'audience' cheered and screamed. Her name was being chanted like a march.

"Forty-five seconds and one big obstacle left! Can the Fiery Fury handle it, or has her winning streak been tarnished?"

She frowned at that announcement. She had taken the most time on the middle stone, when the bottom one was supposed to be the hardest. She wasted no further time and turned to the remaining obstacle. She went to work yet again, striking and punching all over. She was breathing hard, and her headband was threatening to slip down.

To her great annoyance, her method wasn't working despite all the time being wasted. There were no cracks, no fissures, just an occasional chip. It made her think back to the boulder that Steven had wanted her to take care of a while back. That one had been five times as big as this one. She would take care of it!

"Fifteen seconds left! The clock's running out! Rockefeller is still standing!"

Ruby's gauntlets glowed brightly yet again, but instead of disappearing, their forms swelled. Steven was in awe, but kept speaking. She grew them as large as she deemed necessary, and in one last fit of strength, reeled them over her head and brought them swinging down.

The stone split in half with a sharp _CRACK_ just as the egg-timer began to ring. For a moment, Ruby held her breath. The other stones were in pieces, this one was just in half. Would Steven allow it?

Steven cheered and whistled, and she grinned in victory. Steven ran to her and grabbed her arm to lift it into the air. Ruby, will her breath still bated, nodded and flexed for the 'crowd'.

"UNBELIEVABLE! ROCKEFELLER HAS FALLEN! RUBY REMAINS THE QUEEN OF CRUSH!" He turned the microphone to Ruby's lips. "How does it feel to be the unbeatable champion, kid?"

Ruby dismissed her gauntlets back into her Gem. She brushed her hands clean afterwards as the proudly told Steven, "Ain't nothing to it, Steve." She flexed her biceps once more. "It's all in these babies!"

Steven turned back to the 'crowd' and waved his arms upwards to rile them up. "Come on, everyone! RU-BY! RU-BY! RU-BY!"

"Ruby."

"RU-BY!"

"Ruby."

"RU-BY!"

 _"Ruby."_

Steven stopped his chanting when he realized that a third voice was shouting at them. He and Ruby both raised their eyes to the balcony of his room above them. Sapphire was at the railing, looking down at them. Her long powder-blue hair was fluttering in the breeze, and her hands were folded in her lap.

"We have a mission," was all she said before she turned on her heel and walked back inside.

Ruby and Steven quickly ascended the stairs back into his Room. Opal was already standing on the Warp Pad's surface, with one pair of arms folded over her chest and the other at her hips. Sapphire had just taken her place beside her when the door swung open.

"What's the problemo, amigos?" Steven asked as he held the screen door open for Ruby.

"The Wailing Stone," said Opal. "It's probably still at the Temple. We should go get it before something - " She narrowed her bright blue eyes at nothing in particular. " - or some THING gets to it first."

"Alright!" Steven and Ruby marched up to the Warp Pad and squeezed onto it. Once he was nestled in-between Ruby and Sapphire, he cheered, "Onward, to save the Crying Rock!"

"Wailing Stone," Opal corrected him.

Ruby chuckled beside him. The Warp Pad lit up, and the image of his Room was warped into blurs behind the bright lights. He felt his feet lift into the air just slightly, but kept still. He found that as long as he kept as straight as possible, he wouldn't go flying all over the place. Ruby kept a hold on his foot just in case.

Gravity came back with a slam, but he thankfully landed on his feet this time. The lights fell away, and he looked around the new environment. The Warp Pad stood in the middle of what would have been a very, very large room, had it not been missing a ceiling, and thus revealed the twilight sky above. It was still daylight at Beach City, so they were a long ways away from home. The floors and walls of the 'room' were made of massive bricks of some kind of clay-like material.

At the other end of the room, there were two doors as tall as the wall they belonged to. They held no locks and no knobs. On either side of the doors, two statues of dry rock stood guard. They were probably three times Opal's height and they each wielded battle axes in one hand. They both wore helmets, and in the 'visor' of each helmet, there were two small pits where their eyes would have been. There were also sizable spaces in the armor - between the gauntlets and the elbow pads, between the breastplates and the belts - but the armors somehow all stood together. Other than them and the Crystal Gems, the room was empty.

The Crystal Gems had already stepped of the Warp Pad. Steven was casually walking forward, his neck turning left and right to look at everything. He turned back to the statues ahead of them. "Cool! Rock guards!" He looked down at the floor and stopped. Just at his feet, there was a dark line running along the length of the floor, between them and the guards. "This doesn't look suspicious whatsoever!" He raised a foot to put it on the other side.

A pair of hands were immediately pulling him back, and Ruby's voice was shouting just behind him.

"STEVEN DOOOOOOOOOOoooon't do that you'll die."

Steven lifted his hands to his cheeks with a gasp of fright. "Oh my!"

Sapphire stepped up beside them. Her face was turned to the guards, but she spoke to them as she coolly explained, "Those guards will battle anything that steps into the field. The Wailing Stone is behind the door."

Opal stroked her chin curiously. She reached down and picked up a small stone in the palm of hand. She swung her arm back and threw it hard, and after a moment of sailing through the air, it landed in the middle of the guards with a _thump_ and a small roll.

The result was instant. In the two pits in the guard's heads, small blue flames appeared, flickering dangerously. The cracks and spaces in-between their suits of armor glowed just as brilliant of a blue. Little tongues of flame lapped out like fingers trying to break free In unison, both guards turned their heads to the stone. From their eyes, two jets of blue heat shot down at it. It was blasted into nothing more than charred powder at once. All of this happened in an instant - when Steven blinked, the guards were back in place and their blue fire was extinguished.

The Crystal Gems frowned and blanched at the sight. Steven, however, just turned to Ruby with an encouraging grin. "I bet the Crimson Crusher can handle these boulders!" He brought an imaginary microphone to his lips and bellowed, "Ladies and gentlemen, Ruby's biggest victory yet!"

Ruby looked between him and the guards and just let out an "um" sound in response. She was strong - she knew that. She had crushed stones in her hands and had reduced a boulder to near-powder by herself. She took down Gem Monsters almost on a daily basis without anyone else to help. But she was thinking that maybe she _wasn't_ fit to fight these guards. The laser probably wouldn't hurt her - heat never did. But those things were more than twelve times their size, and they could crush her in their hands alone.

She looked back at Steven. He was looking at her expectantly - he believed she could take down those things. Maybe she could. It would be a challenge, wouldn't it? She could take them down if she was fast enough. She could do it!

So she summoned her gauntlets and gave him a toothy grin. "You got it! This'll only take me a - "

"Whoa-bup-bup."

A hand had come down on her head just as she took a step forward. Maybe she was grateful that Opal had stopped her. Maybe she was annoyed. She didn't know. Either way, Opal shook her head at her. The ties of hair on either side of her face swayed with the movement.

"Come on, Ruby," she sighed. "You know exactly what I'm about to say."

She did. She dismissed her gauntlets and crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. Steven looked at her, then Opal, then declared, "The Red Rebel will return at a later time!" He 'clicked' the microphone off and 'tucked' it away.

"So what's the plan?" asked Ruby. She jabbed a thumb at the guards over her shoulder. "Even your arrows aren't strong enough to break them."

"I'm aware," replied Opal. She stroked her pointed chin once more. Her gaze scrutinized the guards ahead, leaving the other Crystal Gems to wait in silence. Steven began to hum a tune to pass the time, until at long last, Opal spoke up. "We're gonna need something...bigger. Faster." She narrowed her eyes at the blue spaces in-between the guards' armor - their weak spots. "Sharper." She turned around. "Sapphire."

The blue Gem - who had probably been investigating the future to see what should be done - raised her head at the sound of her name.

"Let's fuse."

Steven gave a large, long gasp in shock and delight. Ruby's dark eyes widened. Even Sapphire was registering surprise. Her small gloved hands, which were clasped at her chest as usual, began to slip apart. Opal just kept looking down at them expectantly.

"I..." Sapphire paused. Steven was starting to dance on his feet. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Wait..." Opal looked off at nothing in particular, then looked back down at Sapphire. "Yes. Let's do it." Steven gasped again, this one larger and longer and higher-pitched.

"Um - !"

Opal and Sapphire both turned to Ruby when she spoke up. The red Gem had her arms raised to stop them, the twilight sky above reflecting off the surface of her Gem. Steven was still bouncing up and down. His brown curls bobbed around on his head.

Ruby lost her voice the second she used it. What was she supposed to say? 'Don't fuse'? 'I don't want you to'? 'Please'? They needed to take care of the guards. They needed to get the Wailing Stone. They needed something bigger, faster, sharper. The only reason she had to stop them was the petty, pathetic excuse of 'I don't like your fusion'.

So instead of saying what she meant, she dropped her arms to her sides and looked away. Embarrassment burned in her face. "Nothing."

Opal stared down at her unblinkingly, her lips pressed together into a line. Did she sense her unease? Did she - ?

She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay." She waved two hands at Sapphire, gesturing her forward. "Let's go."

As Sapphire followed, Steven gasped again, big and long and - he cut down into a fit of coughing halfway through. Ruby quickly patted him on the back, between his shoulders, to help him let it all out. Steven managed to sputter out between breaths, "I'm fine. * _wheeze_ * I'm good."

Opal and Sapphire stood some ten feet apart in the clearing between the Warp Pad and the line marking the field. They bowed to one another, their long hair brushing over their shoulders, and their Gems lit up brightly.

Opal raised her top pair of arms over her head, cradling each elbow with her hands. Her lower pair of hands went to hold her hips. She swayed left, then right, then lowered her arms to form an 'X' across her chest. With each movement, trails of white light followed her Gems. Her other pair of hands ran down from her hips to her thighs as she dipped down.

Ruby quickly looked between Opal and Steven with a raised brow. She wondered if Opal had forgotten that Steven was there.

Sapphire's arms swayed left, then right. Then she span in a small circle back to the left. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest and dipped down like Opal. Once she was standing again, she put her right hand to her left elbow and raised up her palm so that her Gem faced Opal.

Opal began to walk forward. With each strutting step, two arms went to her belly and the others swung down.

Sapphire moved forward, too, raising her hands above her head and swinging them down to her side. Her Gem left a blue streak of light in the air.

When they met halfway, Opal took hold of Sapphire's small hand and pulled her to her.

Just as their bodies met, they melted together into a single silhouette of almost blinding blue light. Steven squinted, but refused to remove his eyes from the scene. Ruby flinched and raised a hand to guard her eyes while she kept her arms crossed. The silhouette began to rise into the air. Steven could just hardly make out the shapes of their Gems - they were almost black shadows from the light. From the silhouette came shafts and lasers of blue light. They slid over the floor and the walls, and Steven giggled when they passed over him as well. Ruby remained still.

The silhouette finally began to grow...and grow...and _grow_...Steven's smile of delight turned into a gape of awe. The silhouette touched the floor, something extended from either side, the lasers slowed to a halt...

Then suddenly, all the light was gone, and in a burst of stars, the fusion stood before them.

"WOO! Boy, it's been a _while_!"

If it were possible, Steven's jaw would be at the floor.

The fusion towered over them, far bigger than how tall Garnet had been. This fusion was almost twice the guards' height, thirty-five feet tall at the least. Her skin was a light hue of lavender-blue, soft hair the color of a cloudless sky pulled back into a high ponytail that brushed against the small of her back. She had the point of Opal's nose and the plump fullness of Sapphire's lips, now pulled apart into an ecstatic grin. Three eyes, lined up side-by-side, could be seen through a blue W-shaped visor. She wore a knee-length navy dress with a light blue star where her belly-button would be. The sleeves of the dress, like Sapphire's, were large and full, but they were transparent like gossamer. The fusion had four arms, and she wore finger-less gloves on two of them. She also wore small, dark blue boots that lacked toes. On her chest, forehead, and lower right hand, she held the three Gems of her components, each a light blue color.

The fusion reached behind her to stretch a leg over her shoulder. She let it loose after a moment, and sighed in delight afterwards. Her eyes were half-lidded with peace, but they widened when they looked down. Her lips formed an 'O'.

Then she let out a squeal of delight. The pupils of her eyes became the shapes of stars as she squatted down as if to look at an adorable animal. She grinned down at Steven.

"Steven! It's so good to see you~!"

Steven, in his awestruck wonder, just now realized that her gargantuan hands were coming around him. Ruby half-side-stepped, half was-pushed-out-of-the-way beside him. The soft blue hands cradled him, forming a bowl at his feet, and lifted him up into the air until he was eye-level with the fusion.

"Oh~! Look at my little man!" Her voice was like music, light and chipper and occasionally breaking into tune. "C'mere!"

She leaned forward and pecked him. If she were smaller, it would have been a gentle kiss to the forehead. But as big as she was, Steven's entire front was smothered against her lips. She pulled back after just a moment, thankfully, and Steven finally got his head out of the clouds.

He beamed up at the new fusion with starry eyes and asked, "What's your name?"

Her lips formed an 'O' once more, but then she gave him a smile warm enough to melt him. "Silly me. I'm Moonstone, sweet pea. Sorry if I'm a little much." She winked, and a little star bounced away from her face. The hands holding him wiggled just slightly, and he grabbed one of her fingers to keep himself steady. _"But you're just so adorable!"_

Steven flushed under the motherly praise. "You're amazing!" He turned to the side and pointed down past her hands. "Ruby's here, too, if you want to say hey!"

Moonstone moved her hands to the side to get a better look. Ruby stood down below, absolutely tiny compared to her, with her arms still crossed over her chest. She flicked her wrist in a wave.

Moonstone waved back as if oblivious to Ruby's discomfort, "Hey, Ruby!" She kept her smile as she turned back to Steven. "Anyway!"

The hands lowered back down to the ground. Steven stepped off and took his place back beside Ruby. Moonstone straightened, back to her towering height.

"I'm here for a reason, of course," said Moonstone. She gave the guards a little glance. "And since I am, who wants to see something..." She spread her arms in small circles. They left little sparkles where they moved. "Magical?"

Steven nearly hit Ruby in the face with how fast his hand shot into the air. "I do! I do! I do!"

Moonstone raised two hands to cup the Gem at her forehead, and used the other two to cup the one at her chest. There was a flash of light, and Opal's bow appeared in her hands, albeit much larger than usual. Moonstone held the bow in both hands and snapped it in half so that it became two pieces held together by the string. As she held them, Sapphire's knuckledusters appeared on her hands, and she held both weapons up as they morphed together in a bright glow.

When the glow fell away, she was holding a pair of nunchaku. The two pieces were held together by blue wire, and each piece had a sharp, bluish-purple crystalline blade jutting from its front. Moonstone dropped one hand and twirled the other so that the free nunchuk span around in a circular blue blur.

Ruby looked over at Steven and rolled her eyes. Steven was practically drooling over the giant fusion. His starry eyes probably hadn't blinked in minutes, and she reached over to snap his jaw shut.

"You stay here, where it's safe," Moonstone told Steven. She turned to the field. "Moonstone can handle this."

She stepped forward past the line. The guards came to life, blue flames erupting from their cracks and fissures. This time, they moved, stepping off their small pedestals and swinging their battle axes into their opposite hands. Fiery eyes glowered at Moonstone threateningly.

Moonstone just chuckled. "Let's play nice, boys."

The guards charged forward. Moonstone swung one nunchuk, and when it slammed against a guard, he went sailing, albeit he wasn't destroyed. She held the blades of her weapons high and slashed the remaining guard. The blade sliced through its fire like a knife through warm butter. The guard's right arm fell away, but before Moonstone could finish the job, the other guard came charging forward.

And so the pattern continued. Moonstone swung and slashed and stabbed with ease, coming closer to victory each time she did. She was showing off every chance she got. Sparkles and stars would fly upwards, and Steven whooped in delight each time.

Ruby wasn't delighted. She wasn't delighted with Moonstone's presence. She wasn't delighted that she was being ignored. She wasn't delighted that Steven was fawning over someone as overzealous as Moonstone.

So she turned and headed for the Warp Pad. Steven actually _did_ notice this, and called after her, "Where are you going?"

Over her shoulder, Ruby called back, "I'm not needed here."

Steven turned his head between the retreating Ruby and the battling Moonstone. He really wanted to keep watching Moonstone - How could he not? She was amazing! But Ruby also seemed very upset about something. Genuinely upset, not just huffy-Ruby upset.

So he cast one last look over at Moonstone before following after Ruby. The two of them stood side-by-side on the Warp Pad, and although Ruby cast him a glance, she didn't say anything to him.

Moonstone's moving silhouette was warped by the lights of the Warp Pad.

* * *

When the lights fell away, and they were once again back at Steven's Room, Ruby immediately stepped off and made a beeline for the door. Steven hopped off after her and called, "Where are you going?"

"Out," was her only reply.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Ruby's words came out in a harsh spit, and Steven flinched back out of surprise. Her glowering face softened, looking a bit guilty, and she sighed. With her hand on the knob of the door, she said in a much gentler voice, "I'm just going out for a while."

She left, and although he was tempted, Steven didn't follow her. He could tell that now probably wasn't the best time. And besides, Ruby never really was one for heart-to-heart talks. She liked to solve her problems by herself, and even if Steven didn't really like that, he never said anything.

The house phone suddenly rang out, snapping him from his thoughts. Steven did a quick dash to the kitchen, jumped up, and snagged it off of the receiver. Holding it to his ear, he greeted, "Universe residence answering."

 _"Maheswaran residence calling."_

Steven instantly smiled at the sound of Connie's voice. "What can I do for you today, Maheswaran residence?"

 _"I was just wondering if today was a good day to come over. I have...oof!"_ There was a grunt on the other side of the line, followed by a shuffle of movement. _"A REALLY big box of craft stuff I got at a garage sale today and I thought you'd want to help me get rid of everything inside."_

"Why would you want to get rid of it?"

 _"Eh. I just wanted the box. It's a good box."_

"Oh. Well, yeah, come on over! Actually, there's something really, REALLY cool I want to tell you about!"

* * *

Ruby picked up another rock from the long, pale grass. It was about the size of her pinky finger, and almost perfectly round. She gripped it in her fist until she felt it give way. She kept crushing the chunks into pieces, then the pieces into a fine powder. When she was done, she held out her hand palm-up. The wind swept the powder from her fingers. The gray dust fluttered away in swirls and loops until it could no longer be seen.

She picked up another rock to do the same thing. If she were angry, she would be punching something, like a boulder or a tree. But she wasn't angry so much as annoyed. Thus came crushing rocks and letting the breeze take away their dust. It was strangely cathartic. Also, she'd be lying if the view from the top of the cliff wasn't a pleasant one.

She sighed and pushed herself to her feet. She brushed off the dust from her pants and shirt, then rubbed it off of her Gem. She gave the view one last look before turning on her heel. She rounded past the lighthouse before beginning her descent down the cliff's hill. Ruby didn't _mope_.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the beach, Steven was snipping his scissors through a sheet of foil. Beside him, Connie held a smooth round stone in her blue-spattered hand. The powder-blue paint from from her paintbrush had spread all over her hands and fingers. She had a small blot just above her eyebrow, and her overalls had some stains from both this time and other crafts. She had remembered to pull her dark hair away from her face so as not to get it painted, luckily.

"And she's, like, thirty-five feet tall!"

Connie's bushy eyebrows rose at that. "That's a lot of feet."

"Like, a gazillion! And she has these sunglasses that are kind of like..." Steven raised his fingers to his nose and pointed two up in a V-shape.

Connie furrowed her brows in confusion. She put her paintbrush down on her knee and mimicked his pose. Little streaks of blue paint were already appearing on her face, a little smudge on the left lens of her glasses. "Like this?"

Steven hummed as he looked at her face. "No...No, more like..." He reached over and tried to fix her hand into the right position. He paused, removed her glasses, then continued. However, Connie kept squirming, and he eventually chuckled, "Stop squirming!"

"I'm sorry! It tickles!" Then she blanched when Steven suddenly jabbed her own finger into her eye. "Ah! My eye!"

Steven gasped and pulled away. As Connie rubbed the pain away with her stained hand, Steven continued to fret with, "What have I done?"

Connie rolled her open eye. "Ha-ha."

"...What?"

At the same time that this was happening, Ruby finally reached the base of the cliff. Her shoes touched the sand, and she went to kicking up plumes of it with each step. She _was_ moping, wasn't she? _Moping_. Moe-ping. She hated the word.

She heard distant voices up ahead, and two forms in front of Steven's Room. They came into clarity the more she moved forward. There was Steven - she could tell by the pink of his shirt. Then there was Connie, because, well, who else would it be? But there was something (or someone) else with them. It was tall and kind of lumpy, shaped more like a...snowman? She squinted. She could make out gray rocks, round ones stacked one atop the other.

She felt a grin start to lift up the corners of her mouth. She walked a bit faster, and called out as she approached, "Hey, Steven!"

He lifted his head up at the sound of his name. Connie looked up, too - her face was absolutely spattered in blue paint by this point, all over her right eye and cheek. She also noticed that there was a box between them, full of paints and paper and whatnot. That was a first - Steven usually didn't make up the rock-fighters so much.

Steven grinned warmly as Ruby approached. "Ruby! You look really not-upset!"

She nonchalantly waved a dismissive hand. The Gem in her palm flashed white in the sunlight. "Eh, don't worry about me. So." She summoned her gauntlets onto her forearms with a blast of red light. She clacked them together as she teasingly asked, "I couldn't help but notice that opponent behind ya. Ready for the Fiery Fury's comeback game?"

Connie looked utterly confused, but Ruby had expected that. However, she was also expecting Steven to grin with those starry eyes of his and run up the stairs for the boom box. He did not.

Instead, Steven frowned and shook his head. The smile on Ruby's face dropped at the same time that one of her eyebrows rose. "This isn't an opponent," said Steven. "It's Moonstone! See?"

Ruby looked up when he gestured at the rock-snowman-thingy...rock-man.

Like all the others, it consisted of three stones stacked together, largest at the bottom, smallest at the top. However, this one was...different, to say the least. It had a blue sash of cloth with a little blue star tied around its middle rock. Four sticks of driftwood, two between the top and the middle, two between the middle and the bottom, jutted out from the body like arms. One held a small blue rock in its "fingers". It had a cone-shaped party hat strapped to its face for a nose, and what looked like the bottom half of a plastic blue egg on its forehead. Lengths of blue yarn spilled out from its head by tape.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Steven stood to his feet with a shape of foil and a roll of tape in his hands. He held up the foil, cut out in the shape of a W, to the top rock and taped it in place, between the egg-bottom and the cone-nose. Connie stood up, too, and taped the blue rock she'd been painting to the middle stone.

"Doesn't it look..." Steven wiggled his fingers while Connie tossed up a handful of glitter in front of him. "Magical?"

"I'm going inside."

Steven frowned instantly. Ruby quickly stomped past him, stomped up the stairs, and stomped into his room. The door slammed behind her. Connie and Steven kept their eyes on it for a moment, until Connie turned to Steven. "What was that about?"

"No idea," Steven replied. He looked up at the rock-man version of Moonstone and hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think we should add more glitter?"

Connie nodded. "She needs at least forty percent more glitter."

"I concur."

* * *

Ruby's anger was hardly waned when she heard the satisfying sharp slap of the door behind her. Her annoyance had come back tenfold. Steven NEVER turned down a chance to see the Red Rebel, the Fiery Fury, the...the...Whatever alliterative-adjective-name he called her! She was getting _shown up._ By who? Some fancy-schmancy laser show? He'd known Moonstone for hardly a few hours and was acting like she was his role model!

Ruby took a deep breath while her fists trembled at her sides. The air came out in a puff of white. She needed to blow of some steam, but there was nothing around that was worthless enough to break without consequence. She glared down at the floorboards beneath her.

" _I just don't get what the big deal is  
I don't see why you adore her so much_"

Ruby lifted her head turned to the kitchen. Maybe she'd just douse herself in some cold water. Then she would _literally_ be blowing off steam. She moved forward, her shoes making loud _thumps_ on the wood.

" _So she's cool and strong and powerful  
And she has sparkles and lasers and such_"

Ruby continued to glare down at the floor as she yanked the refrigerator door open. Cold leaked out and brushed against her legs in the form of wisps of white air. She shoved plastic containers and pitchers of juice and tea out of the way until she found the plastic-bound bunch of water bottles. She reached and pulled one out.

" _But can't you see that she's not all perfect?  
She's just overzealous_"

She shut the door, and froze at what she saw when she did. There was a picture of Moonstone, drawn in Steven's telltale messy style in crayon colors of blue and purples. She was winking at Ruby, a little star bouncing from her face, and one of her four arms was raised to send her a peace sign. Her name was printed out in chicken-scratch above her head. A little Steven stood at her feet. His tiny arms were raised in a cheer.

" _I'm just telling you the truth  
and not because I'm - !_ "

Ruby stopped when she saw that the water bottle in her hand. The liquid, which had just been icy cool a moment prior, was now boiling inside the plastic in a scalding mess of cloudy steam and bursting bubbles. She all but threw it into the sink before it ended up bursting in her hands. It erupted on impact, and a small cloud rose into the air before dispersing. She groaned.

" _I know what it's like to be strong  
In the real way_"

Ruby paused, then summoned her gauntlets onto her forearms. Their weight was familiar, the feeling of cloth on her hands welcome.

" _And I know that I'm not too strong  
In the real way_"

Ruby took a swing forward, then turned and sent a kick whistling through the air without missing a beat. She listed off her attacks in her head as her body continued to swing and sway. Double-punch, high kick, roll, swing...

" _But I want to inspire you  
I want to be your knight  
And when I fight"_

With a final swing, she stopped still and looked down at her gauntlets. Suddenly, they felt tiny, nothing more than little toys of weapons. What was she compared to Moonstone? She was small, weak, simple. She dropped her hands as her weapons fled back into her Gem in ribbons of red.

" _It works like it used to._ "

She eventually just dropped down and sat down on the floor with a sigh. Her heat was gone - now she felt uncharacteristically _cold_. She lifted her hand to look down at her Gem. Her red reflection stared back at her from the square facet.

She didn't know that Steven had dashed up the stairs to get more glitter for the rock man-version of Moonstone. As she was facing the refrigerator, she didn't see him pause at the screen door when he heard her speaking to herself. She didn't notice his head peeking through the window as he watched her move, swinging and swaying, until she finally dropped. She still didn't notice him when he moved away from the window with a frown.

Did Ruby honestly think that he didn't like her anymore? Moonstone was amazing, yes, but she wasn't a replacement. Ruby was Ruby, Moonstone was Moonstone - they didn't have to rule each other out. The thought that Ruby thought as much upset him. He didn't want to use the word 'annoyed', just 'upset.' Moonstone was as kind as she was flashy, so Ruby despising her out of jealousy was simply mean in his eyes.

He eventually turned away from the door and walked down the stairs, two at a time. Connie was adding some touch-ups to 'Moonstone', rearranging her fuzzy lengths of hair and adjusting her wrap of a dress. She paused when she saw him approach. "Did you not have any glitter?"

"We do," sighed Steven. In a softer voice, he repeated, "We do."

Connie frowned. She got down from her tip-toes and walked over to him. He plopped down on the sand on his rear end, so she sat down beside him, crossing her legs and setting her wrists upon her knees. "What's up?"

"It's Ruby," replied Steven with a light groan. "I think she thinks that Moonstone thinks that she replaced Ruby, and now Ruby thinks that I think that Moonstone is better than her, but that's not what I think. You get me?"

Connie hummed, "I think."

"I just don't get what she has against Moonstone." Steven reached a finger out into the sand and drew an oval and two circles. Inside the circles, he drew a hexagon and a triangle respectively. "Moonstone's really nice and sweet. And extremely charismatic. It's not fair for her to hate Moonstone just because she's jealous."

"Maybe she doesn't." Connie reached out into the sand as well. It looked like she was drawing some sort of bird, judging by the triangle-shaped wings and beak. "Maybe Ruby and Moonstone have a sort of feud going on between them."

"I don't see why, though. And Ruby isn't a talker. She's a quieter. She won't tell me."

"Then maybe you should ask Opal and Sapphire?"

Steven shrugged one shoulder up and down. "Maybe." He paused. A moment later, his bushy eyebrows furrowed together as he frowned. "They've been gone for a while. What time is it?"

Connie reached into her overalls' pocket and withdrew her polka-dot-patterned wristwatch. She had tucked it away to avoid smearing paint all over it. "Almost three."

Steven's eyebrows furrowed a bit more. "That's two less than five. They should have been back a while ago."

"Since it's almost three, I should probably get going." Connie stood to her feet and once again brushed the sand from her pants. She picked up the rest of the supplies - after their time together, the only things left to use were the paintbrushes and the remaining bit of yarn - and smiled at him apologetically. "Sorry. Want to call me later?"

"Will do," replied Steven. As Connie turned on her heel, he called after her, "After while, crocodile!"

"See you later, alligator!"

Steven stood to his feet and looked up at rock man-Moonstone. The salty breeze was lapping at her soft hair, and the corners of her visor not taped down were fluttering. He turned away from her and quickly ascended the stairs back into his Room.

Ruby was standing in front of the Temple Door when he came in, and the door split apart into cracks just as the door shut behind him. She only gave him a glance, not thinking that he was looking for her, and would have walked into her Room if Steven hadn't called out, "Hey, Ruby!"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Moonstone is?"

Sweet, sweet music to her nonexistent ears. Ruby glowered before she could help it, and turned on her heel once more. "Probably still getting the Wailing Stone. Who cares?"

Steven furrowed his brows at her more-than-bitter attitude. " _I_ care. And you should, too. They've been gone for a long time."

"She's probably taking her sweet time. Using lasers and sparkles and whatnot."

Steven took in a deep breath. The only thing that could get Ruby to come out of a bad attitude like this was some time to simmer down, but that could take a good long while, so he stomped up to the Warp Pad. "Can you at least take me to the Temple so I can check up on her?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, but nonetheless huffily walked onto the Warp Pad. The lights shot up around them, and Steven kept as still as possible. Even while floating up, Ruby remained motionless, her arms crossed over her chest. The lights fell away a moment later.

Ruby's eyes went from glowering to going wide. "Wha - ?"

Moonstone was laid out on the stone floor. The crushed remains of the guards were spread around her, nothing more than empty, broken shells of stone. Two of her arms were splayed out at her sides and the other two were folded over her belly peacefully. Her three eyes were shut and she wasn't moving a muscle.

Steven flinched when Ruby's voice suddenly and loudly screeched, _"WHAT?!"_

Steven hopped off the Warp Pad and ran over to the fallen giant woman. Ruby trailed behind him. He walked to Moonstone's head, stepping through soft masses of sky-blue hair, and placed a hand on her soft cheek. She lacked ears, but he leaned to where they would have been and called, "Moonstone! Wake up!"

At this angle, he could clearly see her eyes behind her visor, cobalt irises fluttering open lazily. She sat upwards - Steven went tumbling to the floor when the hair beneath his feet was pulled away - and let out a long yawn as she stretched her arms over her head and behind her back. She smacked her full lips and smiled peacefully down at Steven. "Hey, sweetie." One of her hands lowered down to him so she could pat a finger atop his curls. "How you doing?"

Ruby stepped forward before Steven could reply. He could feel warmth spread across his skin as she approached. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT THE GUARDS, GET THE WAILING STONE, UNFUSE, AND COME BACK HOME! AND YOU DECIDED TO TAKE A _POWER NAP_?!"

Moonstone, with a frown across her mouth, legitimately surprised with Ruby's sudden anger, replied, "Just for a little while." She reached to her side and lifted up something for them to see. It looked like a large stone with a flat bottom and a circle cut out from its top. "And I've already got the stone, see?"

Ruby took in a deep, shuddering breath and ran a hand through her dark locks of hair. Steven took a step back, wary of the usual blast of heat that she would erupt. Instead, Ruby just glared up at Moonstone from beneath her headband and called, "Just go ahead and unfuse already! It's been long enough!"

Steven jumped back when a massive gloved hand suddenly reached down and plucked Ruby up by the back of her shirt like a disobedient puppy. Moonstone raised Ruby to her eye level and glared at her through her visor.

In a low voice, Moonstone said slowly, _"I don't like your tone."_

Ruby, although surprised at first, matched her heated gaze and bit back, "What are you going to do, ground me?"

A moment later, Ruby was flying through the air.

Ruby's scream became softer and softer as she sailed over the stone walls of the Temple and far beyond to the outside. Her red form disappeared from sight. Steven's jaw was hanging loose, now from horror rather than awe.

Still, Moonstone just gave him another one of her warm smiles as she gently instructed him, "Stay here, sweet pea, I'll be back in a minute."

She quickly summoned her nunchaku back into her hands and, with one swift strike of her leg, demolished the wall in front of her.

Stone and brick tumbled away in clouds of dust. The Temple, as it turned out, sat atop a hill so high and so steep that it looked like a grassy green finger pointing up from the Earth. As far as Steven could see, golden grass like wheat spread out across the ground, small shrubs and trees with low canopies dotting the landscape. A little river, gold in the setting sun, ran through nearby, and little lakes and ponds surrounded it. Groups of black silhouettes were flitting to and fro. Steven squinted to try to figure out what they were. Then he realized that they were animals, exotic ones, zebras and elephants and gazelles grouped together in clusters all around.

Ruby had landed a good two miles outside of the Temple in a small lake surrounded by a herd of elephants. She sat up in the soft mud, spitting out murky water and brushing her dripping headband out of her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was face-to-trunk with an elephant. The animal didn't stomp or reel back in surprise, but instead spat a jet of water at her face.

A moment later, the elephants _were_ stampeding away, this time by the arrival of a sudden giant woman in their midst. Moonstone held her nunchaku in two hands and used the other two to pick up Ruby once more. The little red Gem kicked and protested, but eventually gave in with a growl. Her gaze alone was hot with fury.

"Now, Ruby," Moonstone tutted in a lightly scolding voice, "I'm going to give you to the count of three to apologize. One - "

 _"Unfuse."_

" - Three."

Ruby was tossed into the air like a rag doll, spinning and flailing. Then Moonstone's free hand swatted her out of the air like a bug. Ruby went sailing down into the Earth, landing with a _thump_ that Steven heard and felt even as he remained at the edge of the Temple.

Ruby let out a pained groan as she pushed herself to sit up. Steven, meanwhile, was stuck on the sidelines. He _could_ jump down from the Temple and slide down the grassy hill to the ground below, but to say that it was a long ways down would be an incredible understatement. He was left to anxiously and helplessly watch the scene.

The bright sunlight was drowned in the shadow of Moonstone's body as she towered over Ruby. She stood to her feet and kept her gaze steady and unwavering.

"You guys need to unfuse," she called yet again. Her voice became more desperate as she added, "Moonstone is consuming you two! You're losing yourselves!"

"The only one of us causing trouble is you," countered Moonstone. She held up her other two hands and summoned a second pair of nunchaku. Their blades glinted sharply. "I just wanted to be _me_ for a little while. Now are you going to calm down, or am I going to have to set you straight?"

Ruby's eyes turned to the blades of the nunchaku as they were raised higher. Her eyes flickered with doubt.

"You can do it, Ruby!"

Ruby and Moonstone both turned to the Temple far away. They could see a little pink-and-blue silhouette where Steven stood. He had his hands cupped around his mouth as he spoke.

"Come on! Show her how the Crimson Crusher does it!"

It would have been silent, save for the wind rushing by him. A moment later, Ruby's distant voice replied as her red form flailed its arms.

 _"Are you crazy? Look at her! She's huge!"_

Her voice became a quiet _"AHHHH!"_ as Moonstone plucked her from the ground and tossed her into the air once again. Moonstone brought a nunchuk swinging at her, striking her in midair and sending her shooting down to the dirt once more. Steven could only hear a near-mute whine of pain.

"Come on, Ruby! The Fiery Fury is on a winning streak! The Red Rebel can't give up her crown now! RU-BY! RU-BY! RU-BY!"

Moonstone sighed to herself as she turned to face him. Gently, she called, "Steven, sweet pea, let the adults handle thi - Hey!"

She reeled her foot up and looked down to see what had offended it. Ruby stood at her feet, her gauntlets on her arms, glaring up at Moonstone as if she were the smaller of the two of them. She pounded her fists together.

"Bring it."

Moonstone's pointed nose wrinkled in disdain. She swung her foot back and brought it up in a kick. Ruby admittedly hadn't planned for it and let out a grunt of surprise when it came charging into her. She was shot into the air by the force, and Moonstone raised a nunchuk to swat her down once more. However, just as it came, Ruby pinpointed her chance and grabbed hold of it. It happened too fast for even Moonstone to react, and the nunchuk kept swinging with Ruby still on. Ruby only let go to hop off and grab a hold of Moonstone's shoulder.

Moonstone, baffled, dropped one of her pairs of nunchaku and went to swatting all over herself as if to get rid of a pesky bug. Ruby, however, took advantage of her smaller size. She dodged and leaped and ran all over Moonstone's shoulders and torso, narrowly avoiding the hands that came to slap her. Soon, Moonstone's nunchaku came into play, until all Steven (to his confusion) could make out was Moonstone's arms and weapons flying around her body in a mess of hands and strings.

Ruby leaped from Moonstone's shoulder to one of her hands to her nose. Perhaps it was part of Opal's forgetfulness that made Moonstone swat at her own face to catch the red Gem. Her hand met her nose with a loud slap that made Moonstone flinch out of surprise.

Ruby, on Moonstone's shoulder, took just a moment of her distraction to analyze the situation. Her nunchaku had wrapped around her torso, caging one of her arms and leaving on of the blades against her back.

Without wasting another second, Ruby dove for Moonstone's hair. She latched onto handfuls of strands and swung through the air.

Moonstone, still disoriented, was caught off-guard by the sudden weight pulling on her ponytail and began to teeter. She attempted to regain her balance, but it was fruitless. She went falling down, first landing on her rear end, then on her back, driving the blade of her nunchuk between her shoulders -

POOF!

Ruby hit the ground just as Moonstone's body became a massive cloud of thick, sparkling blue smoke. Once on the grass, she waved the stuff away from her eyes and looked around to see if it had worked.

Opal and Sapphire laid face-down in the grass, their limbs splayed out beside them. Opal was the first to move, letting out a groan as she pushed herself to her knees. She looked strangely tired, and her white hair was sticking on its ends. Sapphire moved, too, but instead just pushed herself sideways so she instead laid on her back. Her bangs were messy enough to allow a bit of her single eye to peek through.

"Opal! Sapphire!"

The two Gems turned to the approaching voice. Steven was running to them, almost tripping in the tall grass. His clothes were smeared in dirt and his hair had bits of grass stuck inside the curls. He all but threw himself onto Opal, making her emit a grunt of surprise.

She blinked down at him confusedly. Her voice was slightly slurred with fatigue as she asked, "How'd you get down here?"

He shrugged casually. "I rolled."

They all looked over to the hill in the distance. They could just make out a light, crooked line in the yellow grass running down its side and trailing to Steven.

Steven turned back to them, pulling their attention back to him. "Are you guys okay? What happened?"

"We lost ourselves," sighed Sapphire. She sat up and pushed her bangs back over her blue eye. "Moonstone took control over us."

The rustling of feet through the grass made them lift their eyes. Ruby stood before them, her red arms crossed over her chest, now free from her gauntlets. She was staring down at them through half-lidded eyes. Her lips were pulled into a deep frown.

Opal put on an apologetic smile so large it looked likely to break her face in half. "Heeeeeeeey, Ruuuuubyyyyyy. You're not mad at us, are you?"

Ruby blinked once, then twice. She eventually dropped her arms to her sides and rolled her eyes in defeat. _"No."_

Opal's smile turned into a genuine one, and she lifted up her arms to flex her fingers. "Get over here."

Ruby begrudgingly moved forward and allowed herself to be pulled into the awaiting embrace. Sapphire tried to side-step, but she was pulled in, too. Steven joined in on his own free will, and as he did, he announced, "That's all, ladies and gentlemen!"

A moment later, Opal pulled away from the hug to fall onto her back with a wheeze of _"Pain."_


	16. The Hourglass

"Is it this one?"

Sapphire looked the hourglass up and down. It was about the length of Opal's arm and consisted of three glass bulbs instead of the usual two. Cobalt and black sand cascaded inside. Golden ivy vines wrapped up the sides, and the plates on either end were dull bronze. In her mind, she looked to see what would happen if they were to touch the hourglass - cracking windows, pouring saltwater, another one hundred years to wait.

"No."

Opal chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully as she craned her head for another suspect. As she did, Ruby's voice called, "Hey!"

Sapphire turned. Ruby was gesturing to an hourglass twice her height and three times her width. The sand inside shimmered purple in the blue light from the windows, and the glass looked particularly thin. "How about this one?"

Cracking windows, pouring saltwater, another one hundred years to wait. "No."

Ruby huffed in frustration and went to looking back around the Sea Shrine.

The Gems' mission today was to find an item known as the Hourglass of Time in the Sea Shrine. It was a device that could make the flow of time turn backwards, and would be a very valuable device to hold if they could find it. Unfortunately, they had no idea what this hourglass looked like, so they had resorted to picking out ones at random and using Sapphire's future vision to see if it was the one. Another problem was the fact that if they were to touch the _wrong_ hourglass, the Sea Shrine would be flooded with the saltwater surrounding it and they would have to wait another hundred years for it to reform.

(It should be mentioned now that Steven did not know this last tidbit of information.)

"How about this one?" Steven pointed at the object beside him.

"That's a clock."

"What about this one?" called Opal.

Sapphire turned around. The hourglass beside Opal was shaped like a double-helix and had violet and chartreuse sand spinning around inside. She shook her head. "We already guessed that one."

Ruby growled in disdain. "There are hundreds of hourglasses in here! This is going to take forever!"

"We can take forever," Opal reminded her.

"I have more interesting things to do!"

As they kept talking, Steven kept walking through the Sea Shrine. The blue light pouring through the water and the windows passed through the hourglasses, creating peculiar designs of light at his feet. The hourglasses themselves were peculiar, no one like another. This one was three times his height, this one came to his knee, this one had blue sand, this one had red sand, this one was shaped like a cat, this one was shaped like a platypus...

He hadn't realized in his curiosity that he had wandered away and out of sight from the other Gems. In their search, the Gems did not notice that he had done so, and kept searching for the Hourglass. They had already gone through at least thirty, and they weren't even an eighth of the way through.

Ruby climbed atop one of the islands holding hourglasses to see if she could see more behind the larger ones. She was careful not to touch any as she did so, but that didn't stop Opal from commanding, "Be careful!"

Ruby just waved an arm at her as she continued to look around. There was a particularly ornate hourglass just a few feet away, a smaller one that she couldn't see before. "Hey, Sapphire, how about this one?"

Opal lifted Sapphire into the air so she could get a better look. The blue Gem's immediate answer was "No."

Meanwhile, Steven was holding his hand up behind an hourglass with a wavy surface. His hand's image was twisted and wavered, but he made sure not to touch it. The Gems had told him not to touch _anything_ unless they told him to. He wished that they trusted him enough not to break anything, but he still obeyed.

As he kept walking, a little glimmer caught his eye. An hourglass, probably the smallest of them all, sat atop another one. It was about the length of his thumb, and encased inside a small glass orb. The sand inside was still.

He looked behind him. The others still couldn't see him. It was small, it didn't look delicate or fragile, and he could easily hold it in his palm. There was no way he would drop it.

Opal turned in a slow circle so that Sapphire could scan the room. She looked from hourglass to hourglass and from possibility to possibility, but it was all coming to the same conclusion. When she was done, Opal turned her around so she could face her.

"Nope."

Opal sighed and placed Sapphire down. At the same time, Steven took the small hourglass into his palm.

Opal paused when Sapphire met contact with something halfway to the actual ground. She looked down and blanched. She had accidentally placed Sapphire atop an hourglass she hadn't even noticed before. Sapphire just stared down at her feet, while Ruby froze in her tracks some ten feet away.

There was a small whistle, and the Gems looked up to the dome ceiling. The circle of glass at the very top flashed white and vanished from existence. Just a split second later, gallons upon gallons of water came gushing in to the Sea Shrine and splashed against the floor below. Within mere seconds, the Gems' footsteps created rings of movement around them.

Opal sighed in disappointment as she lifted up a toe from the water. Little droplets dripped from her yellow boot. "Years of waiting for the Shrine to reform gone down the drain." She almost literally felt a burn at the back of her head, and turned to look down at Ruby. She was glaring daggers up at her leader. "I swear that was not an intentional pun." She smiled. "But it was clever. High-five, me!" She clapped two of her hands together.

Ruby jabbed a thumb to the Warp Pad. "Can we please go?"

Opal and Sapphire both started to follow her. Sapphire paused, however, and turned around. Her turning skirts created ripples in the water. "Steven?"

Opal and Ruby both realized at the same time that they had forgotten about him in their search. Ruby cupped her hands around her mouth and called as loud as she could, "STE-VEN!"

Steven heard his name being called at the same time that he noticed the water pouring across the floor towards him. He mindlessly tucked the miniature hourglass into his pocket and turned back. His flip-flops sent water kicking up behind him.

As he came back to the main area of the Sea Shrine, he paused with his thick brows raised high. A pillar of water from the dome to the floor was sending down a fall of saltwater. The Crystal Gems all stood on the Warp Pad, which had become a small, round island by this point.

"Steven," called Opal, "come on!"

He splashed over to them, and took Sapphire's hand when she held it out to him. The Warp Pad came to life just as his feet touched the surface. Gravity went and came back in a matter of a few seconds, and the light disappeared.

They were all back in the familiar dryness of Steven's Room. As everyone stepped off of the Warp Pad, Steven removed his cheeseburger backpack from his shoulders and asked, "What happened?"

"We touched the wrong hourglass!" Ruby groaned and angrily kicked over a stuffed toy left behind on the floor by Steven. The rather grotesque-looking plaything let out a 'You're killing me here!' from its muffled voice-box. "We were doing so well!"

She jumped back when Steven suddenly appeared at her feet, delicately cradling the toy in his fingers. "Mister Queasy!"

Sapphire stepped up to the Temple Door and held up her glowing palm to its face. As it flashed away from existence, she said, "We can wait another hundred years." Then she stepped inside her Room, and the door reappeared behind her just a moment later.

Ruby turned on her heel for the screen door. "I'm going out to train." She pulled it open and let it smack shut behind her. Her footsteps faded down the stairs.

Opal rolled her shoulders back with an exhausted yawn and moved to the coffee table. She picked up a stray book and a board game box from it and set them aside on the sofa. "I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay." Steven, too, headed for the door as he called back, "G'night, Opal!"

"G'night!" Opal sat down on the coffee table and laid down. Being as big as she was, only most of her actually stayed atop the surface. Her limbs were splayed out to the floor and her head lolled back behind her. Her white hair pooled onto the wooden boards below.

Steven politely and quietly shut the screen door behind him. It was just around five, still plenty of hours left in the evening. The skies were clear, the ocean waves were high, the sun was halfway down on the horizon. He had no idea what he was going to do for the rest of the evening.

He eventually decided that he might as well head down to Beach City. He walked down the steps to the sand below. Lion sat in the shade of the deck, still but not sleeping. His eyes lazily looked up at Steven.

"Hey, Lion," called Steven. "Want to head to Beach City with me?" He squished his cheeks together and cooed, "Pwease~?"

Normally such a request would fall on deaf, uncaring ears. In fact, it probably wasn't the cutesy 'pwease' that got Lion moving. Nevertheless, he lifted himself to his paws and padded over to Steven. Steven climbed onto his back, grasping his soft tufts of pink mane, and whooped when Lion took off galloping.

* * *

"Sadie, my lady, how be-ith thou evening?"

Steven paused when he received no immediate response. The Big Donut was seemingly empty, not an employee or customer in sight. The refrigerator hummed softly at the right wall. Donuts lay underneath the glass of the display counter, sprinkled and glazed and ready to go. All the lights were on, and the door was unlocked, of course, but neither the blonde teenager nor the red-haired one were in sight.

Steven inched inside, and Lion followed him, slinking through the gap of the door.

"Sa-die?" He called. "Lars?" He paused. No one was answering him. "Marco?" Silence. "Yeah, that never works."

He heard a thud behind him, and turned to see Lion with his face pressed against the cloudy glass of the cooler. The animal's bright eyes were trained on the ice cream treats behind the doors. Their bright wrappers spelled out the name 'Lion Lickers'. Lion lifted up a paw and pressed it to the glass so that it left behind a print.

Steven sighed and tugged on his partner's mane. "Lion, noooooo. Lion Lickers are terrible!"

Lion turned his head to him, but otherwise did not move. His paw prodded at the glass once more as his eyes remained trained on Steven. If Steven didn't know any better, he would think that Lion was _begging_.

"I am _not_ buying you a Lion Licker!" He clenched a fist and stared down at it. "Alas, Lion, you are young. You will never know the joy that Cookie Cats brought to this world. You were never know of their taste and glory, will never understand despicable crime of choosing to discontinue them. Perhaps one day, when you are older, I will share the tale with you."

Lion blinked at him once. Then he ducked his head into Steven's midsection, knocking the boy over to his rear end. Steven hit the floor with a grunt.

"Ow!" Steven pulled himself back to his feet. "Gah, fine!" He pulled the refrigerator door open and reached inside. He took out one Lion Licker and unwrapped it. The orange and yellow ice cream and two green candies should have showed him the face of a cartoon lion. Instead, a misshapen mess with a lopsided face stared back at him. His nose wrinkled in disdain. "You poor, disfigured creature. Here ya go."

He tossed it to Lion, who caught it between his sharp teeth. Steven tossed the wrapper into a nearby trash can and approached the counter. He reached into his pants pocket in search of coins to pay for the treat whenever either of the employees returned.

As he came to the counter, he paused. He could have sworn he had heard some type of sound, like a squeak or a hiccup. He held his breath and listened once more. He heard a shuddering breath from somewhere in the back of the store.

He rounded the counter and peeked down the hallway. Through a single ajar door, he could see light spilling out from one of the rooms. He knew that customers weren't allowed in the back, but he moved forward anyway.

Once at the door, he eased it open just a touch. It looked like some sort of stockroom. Metal shelves holding cardboard boxes of all sizes lined the walls. In the middle of the room was a single table and two chairs. Someone sat in one chair. Steven couldn't see their face because they were leaning against the table top, but he had a pretty good guess of who it was judging by the soft blonde hair that spilled over their arms.

He inched the door open more and stepped inside. "Sadie?"

The teenage girl jumped straight up in surprise. Her cheeks were flushed pink and sticky from the tears leaking from her eyes. She hurriedly wiped them away with her hands. When she spoke, her voice was unsteady. "Hey, Steven."

Steven padded over to her. His eyebrows were knit together with concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she sniffed. She wiped her eyes once more. "Just crying over spilled milk."

Steven paused. His eyes glanced down to the floor.

"Steven, no," sighed Sadie. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "It's just an expression." She took in a deep breath - her nose made a flatulent sound as she did - and explained, "Lars and I made plans to go to the movies tonight. I got free tickets for _Spy Story._ "

"You mean the one about the guy in the suit who teams up with the woman in the red dress to take down the guy with the eye-patch while they encounter car chases and explosions?"

"That's the one." She glanced up at the clock on the far wall. "We were supposed to be there a half-hour ago. But he canceled at the last second because he said that he, Jenny, Buck, and Sour Cream were going to go to the movies instead."

Steven had already seated himself at the other side of the table. His eyebrows furrowed more as he asked, "Why didn't you all just go together?"

Sadie scoffed bitterly. She was glaring down at the table now. "That's what I said. And he said it was rude to 'just bring anybody when you're invited to something'. _Anybody_. I'm 'anybody' now." She raised her eyes to Steven. They were pink around the edges. "Lars and I have been friends since we were kids, you know. _I_ was the one that told everyone to back off when they picked on him. _I_ was the one that bandaged him up when he fell off his bike all those times. _I_ was the one that promised not to tell about that time we went down to Herman's Creek and Lars fell into the water and when he came back up we had to - " Sadie stopped. She looked Steven up and down. "...Never mind And yet, here I am, once again being replaced by Jenny...and Buck, and Sour Cream."

"It'll be okay," said Steven. He leaned across the table to put a hand over Sadie's. He gave her an encouraging smile. "Listen, Sadie. I know you and Lars. And I know that no matter what you guys go through, you're always going to end up right back together, just like you promised."

Sadie raised her eyes to him once again. "'Promised'?"

"Yeah. 'To have and to hold, till death do you part'?"

Sadie's eyebrows furrowed together. "Steven, Lars and I aren't _married_."

Steven's smile dropped instantly. "You're not?"

Sadie sighed and stood to her feet, disconnecting their hands. "I'm going to take care of the stock. Not like I'll be busy with anything else tonight." She turned on her heel and headed for a small door at the other wall. She pulled it open and pulled on the chain inside to turn on the single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Steven saw a mop and an empty bucket against the wall. "You should go ahead and leave, Steven." She entered the janitor's closet and shut the door behind her. Steven heard the door lock with a _click_.

Steven frowned, but did not move to go to the door after her. He could tell that she just wanted to be alone for a little bit. So he stood to his feet and left the back room, returning to the front of the store. Lion - whom he was embarrassed to admit he had forgotten about entirely - sat on the floor.

"Let's go, Lion," said Steven. "Sadie needs her alone time."

Lion didn't move, and Steven sighed as he stepped forward to get him to budge. The giant pink animal was gnawing on the wooden stick of the Lion Licker that had been given to him.

"Oh!" Steven dug his hands into his pants pocket. "Gotta pay for that before we turn into official criminals. You were lucky that I was here, Lion. The life of crime is too much for you."

He paused when he felt something that wasn't cold and hard like a coin, but was instead round and smooth like a ball. He curiously pulled it out to inspect. It was the small hourglass he had taken from the Sea Shrine, but he had all but forgotten about it since he had returned home.

"Oh," he hummed to himself. He went ahead and pulled out the two dollars for the Lion Licker and set them on the top of the counter. Lion had already stood to his paws and was stretching his back out. "I forgot about this. Look, Lion. It's small, so it's adorable."

He held the hourglass up for Lion to see. He blinked once, then twice, then lapped out his tongue to lick at it.

"Lion, you literal animal." Steven brought the hourglass to his belly so he could wipe off the saliva with the hem of his shirt. He paused as he looked down at it. "I guess I should take this back to the Temple for safekeeping. Come on, Lion."

He gestured to the door. Lion went ahead and pressed against it, ringing the bell atop the door frame as he exited. Steven sighed and sent one last look at the back of the store. The light to the stockroom was still on, but there wasn't a shadow of movement.

"I wish there was someway to help out," he sighed to himself. "Like a marriage counselor...even though they aren't married. _Information which I don't know how to feel about._ "

He heard a soft whistle, and paused to look down at the Hourglass. His eyebrows shot up on his forehead in surprise. It was glowing, and the hourglass inside the orb was beginning to spin around, slowly at first, but then rapidly. The sand inside was no more than a blur. It was growing brighter and brighter, until there was suddenly a flash of white like a camera that made him flinch and cry out.

For a second, he rubbed at his eyes, wiping away the purple blurs that appeared in his vision. He opened them once again, and looked around. He was still in the Big Donut, still at the door. The refrigerator was still humming, the lights were still on, the donuts were still in the display case. Nothing had changed, and yet, he was still amazed.

"Whoa..." His eyes lit with stars as he looked down at the hourglass. "A flashing ball! Just what I needed!"

He heard a rustle of movement in the back, and lifted his eyes to see Sadie walking out of the stockroom with a small cardboard box in hand. Her cheeks were clear of flush and dry of tears. As a matter of fact, she was humming a happy tune as she walked into the front room. She at first took no note of Steven because her eyes were shut in serenity. Steven just blinked at her in surprise. She got over that quickly...

As she walked behind the counter and placed the box atop it, she opened her eyes and smiled warmly. "Hey, Steven."

Steven watched as she unfolded the box and grabbed the napkin dispenser next to the cash register. She opened it and starting to stuff it with folded white napkins, all with a peaceful smile on her face and continuing to hum her little tune.

"Hi. Um...Are you okay now?"

She looked up at him with a bemused frown. "Uh...yeah? Why?"

"You seemed pretty upset just now."

She frowned deeper and paused in her stuffing. An eyebrows rose on her forehead. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen you all evening."

"I was just in here...?"

"Are you sure?" She turned and looked behind her. "I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you all day."

He raised his eyes to the round clock on the wall above them. He had come into the store at around 5:15, but now the clock hands read 4:02. That couldn't be right. The clock must have been broken - he had been with the Crystal Gems since one in the evening. Then again, he could have sworn he had glanced up at the clock as he came into the store...

He glanced behind him. Outside, Lion was nowhere to be seen. It was just the sidewalk and nothing else. It wasn't out of the question that he had already left, though, so he didn't think too much of it.

However, a moment later, Lars was swinging the door open and stepping into the Big Donut. He had one hand stuffed into the pocket of his hole-riddled hoodie as he walked in. He was casually whistling under his breath, and didn't spare Steven a glance as he walked straight to the counter.

Steven expected Sadie's face to fall instantly. He expected her to glare up acidly at Lars, or at the very least become sullenly quiet. Instead, she smiled up at him, as casually as ever, as she set the napkin dispenser back down. She folded her hands over one another.

"Hey! You ready to go to the movies?"

Sadie had said that she and Lars were supposed to be at the movies at around 4:50, right? But it had to be 5:30 by now...but it was also 4:05...and Lion wasn't here...and Sadie wasn't upset...and Lars was here...and Sadie was asking him if he was ready to go to the movies...and there was an extra Lion Licker in the refrigerator...

He looked down at the hourglass in his hand. _"Oh my stars."_

Neither Lars nor Sadie heard him. Lars instead just clicked his tongue a bit too nonchalantly and said, "About thaaaat...the guys invited me to go hang out at the movies with _them_."

Sadie tipped her head to the side curiously. Her soft blonde locks shifted across her shoulders. "'Them'?"

"Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck."

"Oh. Um..." Sadie shrugged one shoulder. She wasn't smiling anymore, but she wasn't quite frowning yet. "Okay. I don't have any more free tickets, but I have a gift card for food, so if they want to get anything, I can spot them." She paused. Thoughtfully, she said "Though I guess it won't be spotting if it's free, huh?"

Lars clicked his tongue again. "Actually, here's the thing - "

"Hey, Lars?"

Both Lars and Sadie turned to Steven when he spoke up. Steven had guessed what was about to happen. Lars would explain to Sadie that it was rude to 'just bring anybody when you're invited to something'. Sadie would probably say okay to that, but retreat to the stockroom once he left to go find the Cool Kids. _Then_ he was supposed to come in and find her by herself with her eyes leaking tears.

Steven cleared his throat and said as casually as he could, "Jenny told me to tell you that Sadie should go with you guys tonight."

Lars frowned, not so much out of anger or disappointment as much as confusion. "I was just with Jenny."

"Yeah, she...Called me. She called me to tell you to bring Sadie along."

Lars's eyebrows knit together. "Why didn't she tell me that when I was with her?"

"She forgot."

"Why did she call _you_ instead of _me_?"

"I can't help that I'm loved, Lars."

Lars gave him a long, hard look. Eventually, however, he just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine." He turned back to Sadie and nodded to the door. "Let's go."

Sadie nodded and reached under the counter for her purse. She lifted it onto her shoulder, flicked off the lights of the store, and walked past the counter to join him. Steven followed him outside to avoid being locked inside the Big Donut (again) and waved to them as they walked down the sidewalk together.

"You two have fun! I want her back before nine, Lars!"

 _"Goodbye, Steven."_

Steven put his hands on his hips, satisfied with himself. He looked down at the little hourglass in his hand. "You did good, little flashing ball. You did good." He hummed and stroked at his chin. "Now I just wish I had something to do for the next two hours. Then again, maybe I should go ahead and give this to the Crystal - "

The hourglass flashed white before he could even react. He jumped and almost dropped it, and once again had to wipe away the purple blurs in his vision. When he finally regained his sight, he looked around. He was standing in front of the Beach City Theater, on the sidewalk just before the entrance. The ticket-seller in the booth gave the suddenly-appearing-in-a-flash-of-white-light-boy no more than a glance before returning to counting out the tickets in her hands.

Steven tucked the hourglass into his pocket. "Well, if you insist."

He heard distant footsteps approaching, and jumped when he realized that it was Lars and Sadie. Apparently, the transition from the Big Donut to the Theater put him ahead of them. He quickly jumped behind a nearby trash can and balled himself up to keep him concealed. He didn't want them thinking that he was trying to spy on them. That would just be plain creepy.

Sadie politely greeted the ticket seller and handed her two slips of paper. The ticket seller nodded and handed back a card of purchase. "Enjoy your film."

"You, too," replied Sadie. She realized what she said as she made her way to the door and smacked a hand to her forehead. Lars's snort of laughter at least got her to smile shyly, though.

Steven stood back to his feet and walked up to the ticket seller. He pulled out a few dollar bills and asked, "One for _Not Your Usual Love Story_ , please."

She nodded and handed him the card for the ticket checker. "Enjoy your film."

"I will, thank you." He snapped his fingers at her as he walked backwards to the double doors. "Nice try, but you can't trick _this guy_."

He swung the door open and walked into the lobby. The carpet had a sort of eighties feel to it, black with multi-color triangles scattered at random. The walls were lined in movie posters (including one for the Dogcopter film that Connie wanted to go see) and a snack bar stood between two doors. Boxes of chocolates, gummies, and hard candies sat underneath the glass while a popcorn machine and soda dispenser stood against the wall. Everything smelled of butter and salt.

Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck all stood at the corner of the bar. Buck held a small cup of soda in one hand, Sour Cream was chewing on a licorice straw, and Jenny was holding both a large soda and small box of popcorn. Lars and Sadie were approaching them already, and Steven ducked behind one of the fake plants at the door for cover. It would be easy to see him from where they stood.

"Hey, you two," Jenny greeted as they came up to them. "Y'all ready to go?"

"Let me just grab something to eat real quick." Sadie dug into her purse and withdrew a small gift card. She turned back to them and asked, "Does anyone want anything?"

Buck answered with a quiet "No, thank you", Sour Cream shook his head, and Jenny held up her food items as she chirped, "I got everything I'm going to need. Though I don't suppose you have a pen and paper with you?"

Sadie nodded and reached into her purse. A moment later, she dug out a simple purple notepad with and a fuzzy pen. As she handed them to Buck (Jenny's hands were full), Lars bemusedly asked, "What do you need a pen and paper for?"

"Our review," replied Jenny. She lifted her cup to her face and took a loud slurp of her drink.

Buck stuck the notepad and pen into his back pocket as he coolly explained, "We post our personal opinions online for people to see." A shine glinted across his shades as he added, "The internet can be cruel. It's a dangerous hobby."

"Cool," Sadie noted as the person behind the bar went to grab her order.

"Yeah," agreed Lars. "Did you guys go to see _The Revengers_ when it was out?"

This was met with a round of sighs and groans. Jenny threw her head back and whined to the ceiling, "Where do we _begin_?"

Sour Cream tucked his licorice into his hoodie pocket so he could move his hands as he spoke. "First of all, the romance between Natalie and Wayne was entirely unnecessary, came out of nowhere, and did nothing to develop either character..."

As they went on talking, Steven took a glance at the bathroom. It was just a few feet away, and all eyes were trained on Sour Cream. He quickly lunged, rolled on the floor, and ducked behind the wall. As he walked inside, he whispered to himself, _"Silent like the night..."_

* * *

When Steven emerged from the bathroom, it was about ten minutes until the show time and the teenagers were all still at the bar. He hugged the wall as they kept talking. The topic of _The Revengers_ had stopped sometime during his absence, and now he could hear that Sadie was the one talking. He held his breath so he could hear her from across the room. A teenager exiting the bathroom gave him a curious look.

"...and the doctor said he wasn't allowed to sit down for a whole day! Mom was laughing so hard she started crying!"

Steven heard the Cool Kids laugh and chuckle as she finished her tale. A moment later, Jenny's laugh ended in a peaceful sigh and she said, "It's getting to that time. Let's go ahead and find our seats."

He heard the swing of a door, and peeked his head around the corner to watch them file into the theater. However, just as Buck walked in and let the door swing shut behind him, Lars rounded on Sadie. His cheeks were pink with leftover blush and his face was anything but happy. " _Why_ did you tell them about Herman's Creek?"

Sadie seemed a bit taken aback by his sudden anger, but nevertheless replied, "They asked about it."

"So you _told_ them?" Lars curled his fingers into his single fluff of red hair. "You don't tell people embarrassing things like that, Sadie!"

He threw the door open before she could reply. He almost had literal steam puffing out of his ears. Steven watched as Sadie sighed sadly and followed in after him. He knew Lars - he was going to be upset about this for quite a long time, and no amount of apologies and reassurances from Sadie was going to change that. It was partially Sadie's fault, partially Lars's, and neither of them were going to fix it themselves.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the hourglass once more. He took a deep breath and held it close. "Alright. I want to go back to before Lars and Sadie walked into the theater."

The flash of light came once more, and he found himself once again standing outside of the theater, on the sidewalk. He heard the footsteps approaching, and moved for the trashcan without looking.

"Hey!"

He jumped back when he heard someone's shout and felt himself collide with something. He turned to see who it was, and gasped when he saw that it was...well... _himself_.

Steven - well, the second Steven - also gasped when he saw himself. There was no doubt that they were the same person. They had the same clothes, the same hair, the same eyes, the same voice. They blinked at one another, dumbfounded and at a loss for words. They both raised a hand at the same time and waved it in a small circle. Then they both snapped their left fingers. Then they both paused...and jumped out and cried "PETER PIPER PICKED A PATCH OF PICKLED PEPPERMINT PATTIES!" at the same time.

Steven frowned curiously. He thought back to how this could have happened, pressing his mind to analyze the situation. He had flashed back an hour to stop Lars, then what was probably fifteen minutes later to the theater, then a few minutes after that to come back again...Finally, a light bulb lit up over his head, and he spoke aloud to himself ( _himself_ , not the other Steven.) "Ohhhh...You must be me from the first time that I came here."

The second Steven tipped his head to the side. "What 'choo talking about, me?"

The first Steven knelt down to the second behind the garbage can. Lars and Sadie had just came to the ticket seller, and as Sadie asked for the tickets, he said to them, "Here, listen. Sadie's accidentally going to make Lars really angry and it's probably going to ruin their whole evening. So we have to stop it from happening, or they'll never get married for realsies!"

The second Steven was still obviously a little confused with how things were playing out, but nevertheless nodded. "Okay...me." Then he smiled as he looked himself up and down. "Am I really this adorable?"

Steven gasped. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"And my voice," laughed the second Steven. "It's not as annoying as I thought it was when I heard it on video!"

"I know!" Steven heard the door click shut behind Sadie and Lars. He stood to his feet. "Let's go, Stevie. Can I call you Stevie?"

"As long as it's me, it's okay."

Steven was the first to walk forward to the ticket seller. He dug out some more crumpled dollar bills from his pocket and passed them to her. "One for _Spy Story_ , please."

The ticket seller tucked the bills into the register and handed him back a card of purchase. "Enjoy your film."

Steven just nodded and walked straight into the theater. A moment later, Stevie walked up to the ticket seller as well.

"One for _Spy Story_ , please."

The two repeated the same process until Stevie followed himself into the theater. The ticket seller only gave them a momentary glance before returning to counting her tickets.

The two Stevens hid behind the artificial plants at the doors and waited for the time in which Sadie would begin her tale. The five of them were still talking about _The Revengers_ , now discussing whether the CGI in the film was overused or not.

Steven heard a 'psst' and turned to Stevie. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Hold it," he instructed. Then, to both himself and himself, he mused, "We have to distract Sadie with something else so she doesn't talk about the embarrassing story."

Stevie hummed in thought. The conversation about _The Revengers_ was quickly coming to a close, and they needed to act soon. "Maybe we should get her talking about something else. What's something that Sadie likes to talk about?"

The two both paused. Then, a moment later, they both snapped their fingers and exclaimed, "The paper airplane story!" Then they winked at one another and whispered, _"Yes..."_

Stevie took his card of purchase from his pocket and folded it several times, overlapping the paper and pinching it straight. When he was done, he had a small airplane in his hands. He stuck his tongue out between his lips as he carefully aimed, pulled his wrist back, and fired.

The little airplane drifted through the air, straight to the Cool Kids, Lars, and Sadie. Stevie's aim was impeccable - it flew straight into Sour Cream's snowy tufts of hair. Everyone went silent and watched as it fluttered to the floor before turning around to see who had sent it. However, the two Stevens had already taken cover behind the bathroom wall. The perpetrator could not be found.

Buck hummed. "How peculiar."

However, as Sadie looked down at the paper airplane at their feet, she gasped and an excited smile split across her face. "Did I ever tell you guys the airplane story?"

Steven and Stevie sighed in relief as Sadie went into her tale. Then, a moment later, Stevie took off for the actual bathroom.

They had all already gone into the theater by the time that they returned. Stevie picked up his card of purchase as they made their way to the doors. Once inside, the lights were already darkened and the trailers were starting up. The man at the door took both of their tickets without any question about their identical appearances, and they took their seats at the back. The teenagers were about halfway through the theater, close to the aisle. There was no one else in the theater, so they didn't have to worry about hushing their voices.

They all shuffled about to take their seats. Sour Cream sat at the aisle seat, while Buck sat beside him, then Lars beside him. Sadie shuffled past them, awkwardly muttering "sorry" and "excuse me" under her breath. Once she was at Lars's side, she sat down...and met someone's body, eliciting a surprised "Oh!" from both of them.

Sadie whirled around to see that Jenny had already taken the remaining seat besides Lars. Sadie had all but sat down on her by accident, spilling some popcorn onto her lap. Jenny went to brushing them off of her shirt, while Sadie shook off her surprise and sputtered out, "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't see you..."

Jenny just sent her a calm smile and waved her hand. "Don't worry about." She grabbed the cushion beside her and pulled it down for Sadie. "Here ya go."

Sadie sent her an appreciative yet embarrassed smile and sat down beside her. She leaned forward just a touch, enough to look around Jenny without being noticed. Lars had his eyes trained on the big screen, paying more mind to the trailer for _Not Your Usual Love Story_ ("But Daddy, I love him!") than her. Sadie sighed and leaned back in her seat, looking down at her feet. She picked at her small box of popcorn without eating it.

Steven and Stevie exchanged a look. Steven raised an eyebrow. Stevie nodded. Then, they both reached into their pockets and pulled out their hourglasses.

* * *

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Jenny paused at the door and turned to the cashier of the snack bar. He was holding up a box of chocolate candies, waving them in his hand so that the pieces inside clacked against the sides. "I was told by an anonymous donor to give these to you."

Jenny raised a brow and set her popcorn down on the counter so she could take the box from him. There was a little sticky-note taped to it, written down in sparkly gel ink.

 _Jenny._

 _-S_

Jenny hummed. She turned the small box over in her hand, her gaze scrutinizing it at every angle. "That's suspicious...Maybe I shouldn't take t - " She cut herself off in a scoff of a laugh. "Oh, who am I kidding? I love Cookie Dough Chews." She placed the box inside her popcorn bucket and turned on her heel, calling over her shoulder, "Thank you, Cookie Dough Anonymous!"

Once again at the bathroom wall, Steven sighed in satisfaction and turned to the others. His two other selves stared back at him expectantly. "Mission accomplished. Great thinking, Stephen."

The third Steven just smiled. "Thank you, me. And might I add what a wonderful shirt you're wearing?"

Steven raised a hand to a cheek to hide his blush. "Oh, you stop!"

The three of them trotted over to the movie theater, handing their tickets to the checker, who once again did not spare a glance to the peculiar sight of three of the same boy. They crept inside and sat once again in the back, watching how the scene would play out this time.

The teenagers were once again seated, but with Jenny having been kept behind, Sadie now sat beside Lars. Jenny side-stepped past them and sat beside Sadie, sending her a friendly smile before digging into her popcorn.

Once the trailer for _Not Your Usual Love Story_ ended ("No, Dad. I'm giving up _your_ dream."), the last-minute messages appeared on the screen, reminding them not to video tape, turn off their phones, and if they wanted any food, then they could all "Go to the lobby~!" As they watched, Sour Cream dug into his bag of licorice straws again and handed one to Lars.

He took it, murmuring an "Oh, thank you", and lifted it to his mouth. Suddenly, however, Sadie gasped and lashed her arm out, slapping Lars's hand and causing him to drop it. This, in turn, caused Lars to jump back into Sour Cream, who dropped his bag as he was pushed into Buck, who had been raising his soda to his lips and dropped it when he was pushed against. Licorice straws scattered as sticky brown liquid pooled and slowly spread down the incline of the floor.

Lars blinked, not quite understanding what had happened for a moment, before turning to Sadie. "What is _wrong_ with you?!"

Sadie stumbled over her words for a moment. It was clear that that had not transpired the way she was expecting it to. "I...uh...You're allergic to Red Straws, remember? You're not supposed to eat...that brand..."

"So you couldn't have just _said_ that?"

"Hey, hey, it's cool." Jenny stood to her feet with her empty popcorn box in hand. "I already ate my popcorn before the actual movie, so I'll head back to the lobby for some napkins. You guys want more food?"

Buck and Sour Cream seemed largely unfazed by the incident, and simply shook their heads and waved her off.

The three Stevens ducked down in their seats as Jenny walked past them to the lobby. They all looked to one another, not so much determined now as confused. They all furrowed their brows worriedly and dug into their pockets.

* * *

"Okay. We have to make sure that Sadie doesn't talk about Herman's creek, Jenny doesn't sit beside Lars, Sadie doesn't try to stop Lars from eating the licorice, Lars doesn't accidentally elbow Sadie in the face, Sadie doesn't yell at him in the middle of the movie, and Lars doesn't storm out. Okay? Okay."

Steven sighed in exhaustion at the long list ahead of them. The other six Stevens - Stevie, Stephen, Samson, Simpson, Simon, and Cornelius - looked him up and down worriedly. Samson furrowed his brows and inquired, "Are you sure this one is going to be foolproof for sure?"

"Yeah," agreed Simpson. "I think they're going to notice us pretty soon."

"Well, _someone_ has to help them," Steven reminded them. "Look, I'm as tired of playing marriage counselor as the rest of you."

Simon spoke up, "But they aren't married."

The seven of them sighed at the reminder. Steven then continued, "We all know how Lars and Sadie are. They aren't going to figure out their problems by themselves - they need someone to help them."

Cornelius spoke up, "I'm right. We may not be marriage counselors, but we can be love doctors!"

Stephen cheered, "Steven Universe, PhD!"

"Alright." Steven stuck his hand out, the back of his palm facing upwards. The others put their hands on top of his. "Let's go for Plan G!"

* * *

Well, everything went okay at first. They managed to distract Sadie from telling the story, then got her to sit next to Lars, then prevented Sour Cream from offering Lars a Red Straw by stealing his bag and replacing it with Cherry Sticks. Then they distracted Lars just as the jump scare came on the screen, which stopped him from elbowing Sadie in the face (unapologetically), then they created a ruckus that prevented the two of them getting into an argument. Finally, three of them stacked atop one another in a trench coat that they found in the janitor's closet and walked into the theater as one of the people who showed where the fire exit was, and 'accidentally' knocked Lars down as he was getting up from his seat, which prevented him from storming out.

However, after this, Sadie whispered something to Lars that got them going into yet another argument in the middle of the theater.

"Let's go, Plan H!"

* * *

At some point, Lars forgot about Sadie's request at the snack bar, yet remembered everyone else's.

"Plan J!"

* * *

Sadie sneezed right into Lars's popcorn. Twice.

"Plan L!"

* * *

Lars accidentally dropped Sadie's phone and broke it.

"Plan P."

* * *

The man behind the snack bar accidentally spilled hot oil onto the carpet, and a fire started in the theater, causing everyone to evacuate.

"Plan R! Oh my gosh!

* * *

"Plan T."

* * *

"Plan V..."

* * *

"Plan W."

* * *

 _"Plan X."_

* * *

 _"Plan. Y."_

* * *

"ENOUGH!"

The five teenagers jumped when they heard the sudden shout behind them. Lars and Sadie had just gotten into the midst of _yet another_ argument, and were standing as they turned around to see what was wrong. The sight that had been hidden from them before baffled them. Twenty-six Steven Universes - Steven, Stevie, Stephen, Samson, Simpson, Simon, Cornelius, Caspian, Eduardo, Hippocrates, Bartholomew, Venus, Antoine, Octavius, Uriah, Captain, The Flash, Mystery Man, Nevermore, World Wonder, The Abominable Steven, The Missing Link, Mondo Mucho, Vortex Crusher, Ultra Thunder, and Garry - stood at the back of the theater, all of them looking either exhausted, stern, or just annoyed.

Steven stepped forward. "We have been trying all day to get you two to get along with each other! We've tried time and again, and you two always find a way to start some kind of argument! _We have run out of alphabet!_ "

Mondo Mucho called from somewhere in the crowd, "I'm still for Plan Alpha!"

"We're not going Greek," argued Captain.

"If you two honestly can't learn how to just get along - you know, like the _friends_ you're supposed to be - then we're not going to babysit you anymore! I'm not saying that you two should stop being friends, but I _am_ saying that you two don't even act like friends as it is! You're always hurting each other and you never apologize! So you know what? We're done! We're ALL done! As a matter of fact - !"

Steven reached into his back pocket and pulled out his hourglass. He murmured something to it, and a moment later, there was a flash of light, and he disappeared.

* * *

As Steven kept walking, a little glimmer caught his eye. An hourglass, probably the smallest of them all, sat atop another one. It was about the length of his thumb, and encased inside a small glass orb. The sand inside was still.

He looked behind him. The others still couldn't see him. It was small, it didn't look delicate or fragile, and he could easily hold it in his palm. There was no way he would -

Steven jumped back when there was a sudden flash like a camera before him. A copy of himself stood there, looking both exhausted, annoyed, and somehow submissive. He was holding an hourglass just like the one on the table in his hand.

The Would-Be Steven plucked the hourglass from the table and handed it out to himself. Steven's eyes never once left himself as he took it.

"Who are you?"

"I'm what you could have become, Steven. Listen. People are going to make mistakes - sometimes, they'll make the same mistake over and over and over. But you know what? Maybe that's just them, and there's no use trying to stop it. If they can't figure out a way to fix it themselves, then so be it. So Steven..." He reached out and took his past self's fingers, wrapping them around the cool hourglass. "Take this to the Gems. This is the Hourglass of Time, and it's not a toy. When you get home, head over to the Big Donut with the best movie we have at the house and some movies snacks."

"So..." Steven paused thoughtfully. " _Samurai Sword III_ and popcorn?"

"Yes, that's good."

As their hands touched, the Could-Have-Been Steven's hands began to twitch, slowly at first, then jerkily. His hands were crumbling away like dry sand, little bits of him falling away from his body and falling into nothing. Steven just stood there, wide-eyed and utterly baffled, as he choked out, "Wh - Wha - ?"

Meanwhile, as the Could-Have-Been Steven looked down as his disintegrating form, he just let out a long, low "Ohhhh...Right. I forgot this means I don't exist anymore." He looked back up at Steven as his torso began to fade. "Oh well. Remember what I said about the Big Donut and the hourglass and _don'tworryaboutme_ \- !"

POOF!

Just as Opal went to place Sapphire down on the floor, she heard the familiar _smack-smack-smack_ of sandals behind her. She turned around to see Steven walking towards them. His arms were limp by his sides and although his lips were in a neutral line, his eyes were blown wide.

He walked up to them and held out the object in his hands. It was the hourglass, a tiny thing not anything like what they had been expecting. They thought that the Hourglass of Time would have been big and grand, not this.

Opal tipped her head curiously, while Ruby stepped forward and took it from him. As she turned it over in her palm, she sputtered, "How'd you know it was this one?"

Steven didn't answer her. Instead, with his face remaining in its petrified state, he sunk to his knees, then to his face. The Crystal Gems were left to stare down at him.

* * *

Sadie lifted up her head when she heard the door swing open. Steven stepped inside with a blanket wrapped around his arm and an unpopped bag of popcorn and a DVD case in the other. She sat up and wiped away the tears on her cheeks. "Hey, Steven. What's all that?"

He walked up to her and handed her the blanket. She was bemused, but took it, and he walked over to the television on the stand in the corner. He pulled it over to the table and plugged the cord into the wall. Then he went to the microwave on the counter and placed the popcorn inside. He pressed a few buttons and returned to Sadie, who continued to watch him expectantly.

"I was told to come over here," he answered. He took a seat beside her. "That you needed a movie buddy for tonight."

Sadie's eyebrows furrowed "Who?"

"Let's just say you and I know him very well."

Sadie blinked once, then twice. A small but warm smile appeared on her lips, and she sat back as Steven inserted the DVD into the player.


	17. The Fountain

Steven tuned his ukulele, tweaking at the knobs and picking at the strings. He strummed one chord, then a second, then ran his fingers across them all. Once he was done, he turned to Ruby and nodded. "Ready!"

Ruby, grinning, held up her fingers to count them down. "Three, two, one..."

Steven went to strumming the notes of his ukulele as he began to sing.

 _"I am Steven."_

Ruby joined in without missing a beat.

 _"And I am Ruby!"_

They sang the chorus together.

 _"La-la-la-la_

 _Something that rhymes with Ruby!"_

 _"We are going to defeat whatever comes our way!"_

 _"Monsters, meansters, whatever it may!"_

 _"Because we are determined to save the day!"_

 _"And make all the no-good, bad-doers pay!"_

 _"La-la-la-la-la-la_

 _La-la-la-la-la-la_

 _La-la-laaaa_

 _Something that rhymes with Ru - "_

"DUCK AND ROLL!"

Steven yelped when he was suddenly tackled down to the ground. His ukulele skidded away from his grasp as his knees and chest went crashing to the floor. He heard a resounding _THUMP_ from behind him and turned to see what it was. A set of spikes, deadly sharp and now embedded in the floor, had fallen down from the ceiling just behind them. He and Ruby lifted themselves to their feet and watched as the spikes rose into the air, back to the ceiling, and disappeared once more.

Ruby huffed and brushed the collected dust from her pants and tank top. Afterwards, she set her hands on her hips and looked across the room. "I hate booby traps."

Steven couldn't stop the grin that crept into his face. "More like - "

 _"Steven."_

" - _Ruby_ traps."

Ruby sucked in air through her teeth. "Aye..."

The room shook around them - all of the rooms did that, although they could not figure out why or what it did. It stopped a moment later with no consequences, so they simply shrugged it off. They continued forward, and the door at the end of the room lifted up for them. They stepped out and into the main area of the Temple. It was a round room, with openings in the walls and a large triangle (composed of smaller triangles) on the floor. The top of the room - since the Temple was in the shape of a pyramid - was a tiny circle of ceiling. It had closed shut behind them when they fell in from the topmost part of the Temple.

Ruby growled as they stepped forward into the middle of the room. Behind her, Steven pulled out a red chalk from his backpack to make a mark on the wall beside the exit. "We. Went. STRAIGHT. A STRAIGHT line. How did we POSSIBLY end up back here?"

They had come to the Temple to find another item of interest, but things had not transpired the way that they had anticipated. The Temple had trapped them inside, and their only hope of getting out was to find an exit through one of the many passages. Steven and Ruby paired together while Opal and Sapphire went by themselves. They had just finished their third trek, and it resulted in the same as the other two - right back to the middle.

"Maybe we didn't go in a straight line?" offered Steven. He tucked his ukulele back into his cheeseburger backpack as he continued, "Perhaps this is a four-dimensional location, and there are no directions like left and right. Perhaps we believe that we went straight, when in fact, we traveled in what we _perceived_ to be - "

He stopped when Ruby suddenly slapped her hand over his mouth. With her Gem pressed against his lips, she told him, "Stop going philosopher on me!"

A moment later, Opal was walking...or, well, hopping out of one of the passages. From her collarbone to her shins, she was bound in thick wire, pinning her arms to her body and just hardly allowing her feet to move. Her white hair disappeared into the wire at her shoulders and erupted from the bottom in tufts.

She half-hopped, half-tiptoed over to them with some difficulty. She nodded her head to the passage she came out of. "Not that one."

Not a moment after she said this, a sudden flurry of suds and bubbles came from another passage and spread out into the main room in a giant froth of white. A shape emerged from it, falling apart until it was eventually revealed to be Sapphire. Her hair and dress were both littered with bubbles and froth, and they trailed after her until she stood among them.

They all stared as the remaining bubbles popped around her. She eventually stated, "Not that one."

Opal sighed and held her breath as she began to audibly strain her body against the wires. One by one, they began to tear apart with audible _pops_ , until she finally pulled her arms free and her legs apart. Most of them fell limply to the floor, and she shrugged away the others.

As she shook out her hair, she looked around them at all the passages. She put a finger to her chin as she questioned, "So how many have we gone into?"

Steven turned in a small circle to look at all of the passages. Sans for the ones that Opal and Sapphire had just emerged from, most of them had a red mark beside them. He pointed to the remaining one that did not. "That's the last one!"

"Alright," said Opal. She waved them all forward. "Let's go!"

The four of them ran full-throttle to the passage, with Opal and Sapphire at the head. Ruby and Steven followed behind as they both screamed war cries.

* * *

15 MINUTES LATER

* * *

The four of them all huddled together on the rubber emergency raft as it was swept out back into the main room on a gush of cool water. They slowly slid to the middle of the room, where the raft began to sputter as the air inside escaped. For a moment, they all sat in the thin pool of water around them, until they finally came to their senses and stood to their feet.

"Well," said Steven, "that was inexplicable."

"I've had enough of this place!" Ruby stomped out of the rubber shell of the raft. The water at her feet thinned away into steam. "Everywhere we go, we just end up right back here! It's like some crazy merry-go-round or something!"

"There has to be _some_ way out." Opal turned her head this way and that. "Every room has a door, right?"

"None of _these_." Ruby waved her hands to the passages of the room. "They don't work!" She tilted her head back to glower up at the small ceiling above. "And it's not like we can go back up."

Steven hummed thoughtfully. Ruby was right - they couldn't go up, and they couldn't go left or right in any direction. He looked down at his feet and lifted up a sandal. The floor was a smooth stone, but maybe with enough force...

"How about we go down?"

Ruby turned to him with a raised brow until she saw what he was doing. She, too, lifted up a foot to look down at the floor. The frustration etched into her face faded away into consideration.

"Alright." Opal waved everyone aside. The three of them stepped back, Ruby while keeping an arm across Steven's chest. "Stay back."

She summoned her bow into her hands with a flash of her Gems. She pulled the string back until a sparking blue arrow appeared in her fingers. She pointed it down to the floor and paused just one more moment before letting the bowstring go. There was an almost instant explosion of dust and stone flying in every direction. When the dust cleared, the four of them stepped forward to peek inside the hole it had created.

The area beneath them was swarming with pyramid-shaped platforms spinning around in rings of gravity. They all circled around a peculiar obelisk with several faces and a giant pink Gem in the shape of a diamond. Even from where they crouched, the Gems could feel the air whipping by.

Steven jumped when he felt a hand plant itself in his curls. Ruby was grinning at him with sincere pride. "Look at you! Being all smart like that!"

He whined but smiled when she rustled his hair. Then he pulled away so that Opal could lower herself down into the new area. It was just wide enough for her to raise her arms above her head and slip inside. Sapphire followed by drifting down after her. Ruby went next, sitting down on the ledge before letting herself drop. The three of them turned into blue, white, and red blurs beneath Steven.

"Come on," called Opal. "You can do it!"

He sat down on the ledge of the hole, took one last breath, and let himself go.

He was free-falling for all of two seconds before he landed on something solid. It wasn't a painful landing, because the platform somewhat dropped underneath him before returning to place once more. The four of them all stood on their own platform, circling the obelisk. The constant movement had the air rushing past them, but it wasn't quite a dizzying experience.

"Steven!"

Steven turned to Opal, who squatted on her platform just four away from his. She waved him over, and he carefully hopped forward, swaying and stumbling, into her awaiting arms. Once he was with her, she pointed to the obelisk, and Steven, understanding, nodded in affirmation. She lifted him into one hand, reeled back, and threw him straight for the obelisk.

He latched onto it at just the right time. Despite his grip, the obelisk did not shift from its place. Everything kept moving, and the obelisk's faces kept shifting. Steven's eyes turned to the giant pink Gem and the reflection on its face. It protruded ever-so-slightly from its place, enough for him to grab onto it and start pulling.

It took some effort, but it finally came loose. Just as Steven pulled it away, the obelisk's face changed from serene to...happy.

Then everything exploded.

Steven yelped as everything burst around him. He did not feel cut or maimed in any way, but it was like he was given a sudden, momentary push from every direction. He was falling instantly, but the dust that erupted in his eyes kept him blind and flailing. He still kept his grip on the Gem in his hands. He hit the ground a moment later, and it wasn't painful, but it caught him by surprise, and the weight of his backpack pushed into him. He was vaguely aware that he had fallen into something soft yet sturdy, and there was sticky liquid running down his skin and into the material of his clothes. He prayed that it wasn't blood.

He finally lifted his hands to his eyes to brush away the dust and dirt and see what had happened. Between leaves and blossoms, he saw a blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. He was back outside the Temple, laying in one of the thousands of strawberry bushes that dotted the field. The sticky liquid was red juice from the strawberries, much to his relief. He pushed himself to his feet and looked around. The remains of the Temple dotted the field in chunks of stone and rubble. The remaining dust in the air evaporated within moments.

Opal had landed just a few feet away from him, sprawled in several bushes, her hair a mixed mess of white and pink. She struggled to pull herself to her feet due to the lack of solid support. Sapphire was a few yards away, just landing on the earth thanks to her quick thinking and ability to levitate. Her dress and hair was free of strawberry splatters.

Steven looked down to his hands, where the pink Gem remained. He quickly Bubbled it and pressed down on it so that it disappeared to Ruby's Room. Once he was done, he turned to the others. "Everybody that is okay, say 'Bumble-Wumble!'"

Opal sighed out a "Bumble-Wumble", while Sapphire repeated it in a calm voice. However, there was no third voice, nor a third person in sight, for that matter.

"Ruby?" Steven turned his head left and right. The red Gem was nowhere to be seen. "RU-BY?"

He heard a sort of muffled sound not too far away, and pulled apart some particularly tall bushes until he could see where it was coming from. Just beyond the bushes, the ground dipped downwards, rolling like a hill. Ruby was at the bottom of the dip. She had landed right atop a mass of stones and rocks, her front hidden and her limbs sprawled like a toy.

Her arms finally moved to push herself up.

"Bumble-Wumble," she wheezed.

Steven quickly yet not quite gracefully stepped down the small incline to her. Once his sandals met stone, he helped Ruby to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she sighed. She brushed some dust and dirt from her pants. She pushed her headband up farther on her forehead as she added, "Just a little cabobbled."

"Aw, I'm sorry." Steven's sympathetic frown was replaced with an ecstatic grin. "But we did it!" He lifted a palm to her. "High-five for battle buddies!"

Ruby smiled exhaustively and raised a hand...and stopped. Just as her hand came to her chest-level, she turned it to her, her eyes trained on her palm. She blinked once, then twice. Her lips remained in a frozen neutral line.

After several seconds of silence, Steven's smile became strained and his hand remained raised. "Battle buddies...?"

Ruby's eyes snapped up to him at his voice. She looked between him and his hand as if she had forgotten about it. She raised her other hand instead and slapped it against his, but her face never changed.

"Hey!" Opal's voice carried over the bushes. "Let's go home! We're done here!"

"Coming," Steven called back.

He began his ascent up the grassy hill, and turned to Ruby halfway up. She still stood among the rocks and stones with her eyes on her hand.

"Ruby?"

Ruby curled her fingers together and finally moved forward.

* * *

It had been a little over three hours since they had returned, and Steven was beginning to worry about Ruby.

Once they had returned home from the mission, Ruby had made a straight beeline for her Room. The red gemstone on the Temple Door had flickered as she activated it, but Steven brushed that off as simply her being quick to get to her Room. But why she _was_ so quick, Steven didn't know. She hadn't emerged since, which wasn't really worrisome in and of itself, but Steven wondered what would make her so anxious to leave and keep her for so long.

Eventually, it was time for lunch, but Ruby still didn't show. This still wasn't especially frightening - Ruby came to some meals, and didn't for others. He still watched the Door, however, just in case she appeared.

Sapphire was atop the cliff for some alone time, while Opal was preparing Steven's lunch. She wasn't particularly hungry, so he had it all to himself. He kept by her side while she cooked (just in case he needed to remind her about something).

"Okay..." Opal lifted the lid of the pot to peak inside. Macaroni and hot melted cheese were mixed inside, ready to eat. Steven turned off the heat for her, and she reached over to the spice rack. "Let's see...oregano, parsley...Oh!" She grabbed a small bottle of colorful candy bits. "Sprinkles!"

"It's okay!" Steven tugged the pot over to him before she could add it. "I'm fine without mac-n-cheese-n-sprinks."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She gave him a Styrofoam bowl for him to put it in, and once she was sure he was fine, she excused herself to go outside to meditate for a while. He poured the macaroni into the bowl himself, and had just pulled a fork from the drawer when he noticed that she had accidentally given him two bowls instead of one. He considered getting the step-stool to put the extra back, then decided against it.

So he poured a second bowl, grabbed both, and headed to the Temple Door. He somewhat awkwardly thrust his gut forward and murmured "Ruby's Room" under his breath. Familiar warmth spread through his belly as his Gem responded to his request. The pink and red gemstones lit, and a red crack ran down the Door before it pulled open.

He stepped inside without Ruby noticing. She stood before the pit of fire in the center of the room with her back to him. Her form wast outlined in orange. It looked like she was holding something in her hand, inspecting it, but he couldn't see it from where he stood.

As he approached, he called out, "MAC TRAIN COMIN' THROUGH!"

Ruby yelped and span around to face him. She kept her hand behind her back, out of his sight. She let out a shaky breath when she saw that it was just him. "Hey, what's up?"

 _"Choo, choo."_ He held up the bowl to her. "This is for you~!"

"Oh." Ruby took the bowl into her free hand. "Thanks."

Steven held out the fork. "Don't you want a fork?"

"Right. Yes."

She held out the bowl to him. He paused, then placed the fork inside. She pulled it back to her chest, but made no move to eat it. Her eyes flickered from the bowl, to Steven, to the left, and the right. Steven had already started eating his, and chewed as he raised a brow at her. He swallowed politely before asking, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she answered perhaps a bit too quickly.

She shifted a bit, and her arm twitched. Steven took in another forkful of macaroni before curiously leaning forward. Ruby shifted sideways before he could see what she was holding.

Steven furrowed his eyebrows, and through a mouthful of cheese, asked, "Wha?"

"Nothing," Ruby replied.

"Then why can't I see it?"

"...It's a surprise."

"You said it was nothing...?"

"It's a surprise. Of nothing."

"...You just ruined the surprise."

"Steven," Ruby sighed. "Is there something you need?"

Steven looked her up and down. His eyes were analytical, but his mouth was just frowning in concern. He could tell that she was obviously hiding something that she did not want him to see, but he knew Ruby, and he knew that she could be insanely stubborn.

So he just shrugged and turned on his heel. He scooped up another forkful of food and muffled back to her, "Thee you later!"

She probably would have waved back to him if her hands weren't full. He activated his Gem once more and exited Ruby's Room, the Door reappearing behind him.

Once he was back in his Room, he counted to himself. He scarfed down the rest of his macaroni and cheese and hurriedly put his bowl in the garbage and his fork in the sink to be washed later. Then he walked straight back to the Temple Door, opened it once more, and looked inside.

Ruby was turned between the Door and the fire, so that he could just barely see over her shoulder. He crept forward undetected, until he was only a yard away from her. She still took no note of him - all of her attention remained on her hand. He craned his neck to see what she was holding.

If he still had food in his mouth, he would have choked.

"GREAT GOOGLY-MOOGLY, YOUR HAND!"

Ruby yelped once again and whipped around to him. Her left hand was swollen almost grotesquely, twice as big as it was supposed to be. It resembled less of a hand and more of a red balloon with five stubs attached to it.

"What's wrong?" Steven walked straight up to her this time. She quickly shoved her hand behind her back as if he hadn't seen it yet.

"I-I told you, it's nothing!" She waved her free hand at him. "Mac-Train back to the station! Choo-choo!"

Steven reached behind her to grab her arm, and she was so surprised that she let him. He brought it to his face to see what was wrong. He was expecting to see perhaps a bite or a string, something that would case the swelling. That's not what he saw.

"Why is your Gem...cracked?"

The face of Ruby's Gem was splintered like glass. Three cracks ran along the surface, spreading from the middle to the edges. They were not particularly wide or deep, but they were there nonetheless.

Ruby tugged her hand back to her, but didn't bother hiding it anymore. She wasn't looking at Steven. Instead, her eyes flickered from left to right as she awkwardly explained, "It...happened when the Temple exploded and I landed on all of those rocks."

"Are you going to be okay?"

She smiled, but it was obviously forced. "Yeaaaah, don't worry about - "

Before she could finish, her hand deflated back to normal size. Not a moment later, her right leg swelled to a squishy, over-sized mass that caused her to teeter for balance.

She put her hands on her hips as if nothing were wrong. "I'm choosing to do this."

Steven put his fists on his hips and put on his sternest face. "You're _not_ okay!"

"Steven..." Ruby looked over his shoulder and around her to see if anyone was listening. She pulled Steven closer and spoke in almost a whisper. She seemed genuinely concerned that someone would be eavesdropping on them. "Listen. Opal and Sapphire can't know about this, okay? They'll think I'm reckless!"

"But you need help!"

"I can fight it off!" Ruby glared down at her swollen leg. "This thing isn't going to best me!"

Her leg suddenly deflated underneath her in favor of inflating her left eye instead. It protruded from her face, three times the size of the other, the pupil just a useless and still black spot. Steven blanched at the sight.

When Ruby spoke, her voice was slightly wheezing. "I'm winning."

"Ruby - "

"Just don't tell Opal and Sapphire, okay? Don't!"

Steven sighed. Was she seriously not going to get serious medical attention just because she wanted to keep up her image? This was probably the most reckless thing she'd ever done.

He finally turned away from her with his head shaking side to side. "Fine. Whatever you say."

"Okay," breathed Ruby. "Okay."

As Steven went to the Door, she turned back to the fire pit. She strained every nonexistent muscle in her face, but her eye refused to return to normal size. She grabbed it and tried to force it back into the socket, but that only succeeded in it going back in and the other protruding out instead. She sighed, but figured that it wasn't terrible. All she would have to do is find a way to force it down and -

"OPAL! SAPPHIRE! COME HERE!"

She jumped when she heard Steven's screaming voice, and turned just in time to see him dashing out of the front door. She ran after him, out of her Room and over the Warp Pad.

"STEVEN, NO - !"

* * *

"You _cracked_ your _Gem_?"

Ruby refused to look up at Opal. The four of them were standing in Steven's Room once more, and everyone had formed a semi-circle around Ruby while she sheepishly cradled her arm in her hand. Steven was anxiously awaiting any kind of verdict, while Sapphire's lips were parted in concern. Opal, meanwhile, was almost shaking, whether in anger or panic.

"Why didn't you tell us?" demanded Opal.

Ruby kicked at a speck of dirt on the floorboards. She mumbled like a scolded child. "There's nothing you could have done..."

"So what, you thought you were just going to hide out until it blew over? Did you want it to be a surprise?"

Ruby stayed silent.

Opal took in a deep breath and ran one of her hands through her locks of white hair. Eventually, she put her hands together and slowly mused, "Maybe we can take you to Rose's garden..."

Steven gasped. "You promised! _Never again!_ "

"No, no, not that one. The one with Rose's Fountain inside it." Opal knelt down and gently took Ruby's arm in her hand, and Ruby did not protest. She turned the smaller Gem's palm left and right to get a better view of the damage. "The water there can heal your Gem."

Steven turned to Sapphire and asked, "How many secret places did Mom have?"

Surprisingly, Sapphire just shrugged her shoulders. Then she placed a gloved hand on Steven's shoulder as she calmly explained to him, "Rose Quartz had a fountain flowing with healing water filled with her essence."

Steven blinked at her. "What?"

"Rose's tears had the ability to heal." Opal stood back to her toes. She was looking at Steven, but Steven had the feeling that she wasn't quite seeing him. "She felt genuine sorrow when her loved ones were hurt, and the tears that she shed flowed straight from her Gem."

Steven lifted up the hem of his shirt to look down at the round, pink Gem in his belly. Perhaps there was a force in there, too, ready to spring free and help.

So he held out his hand to Ruby. "Give me your Gem!"

Ruby did as she was told, albeit with a raised brow. Steven took her hand in his and used the free one to give his eye a quick jab of a poke. He felt his eyes begin to water instantly, and he lifted Ruby's hand to press her Gem against his eye. Sapphire and Opal leaned forward expectantly.

After a second, Steven pulled back to see how his tears had helped.

They did not. Ruby's Gem was still cracked.

"Maybe I didn't cry hard enough," he reasoned. He turned to Sapphire and pointed up at his loft atop the stairs. "Sapphire, go get that CD of that really sad piano song!"

His hands moved to jab at his eyes once more, but a pair of soft hands stopped him. Opal pulled his hands away from his face. "Steven, you don't have Rose's healing tears. It's okay."

Steven frowned. He had his mother's Gem, mother's shield, and his mother's bubble, but not the one thing that could help Ruby? "Why not?"

He had expected Opal to gently explain to him that he was not his mother, that he would not get all of Rose Quartz's abilities, but that that was okay and he didn't need to worry about it because he was a Crystal Gem and they loved him all the same.

Instead, Opal just shrugged and made an "I don't know" sound.

Sapphire broke the silence when she spoke up, "We need to hurry to the fountain before Ruby gets any worse."

Opal turned to the smaller Gem with furrowed brows. "You're taking this surprisingly well, actually."

Ruby scoffed and waved a dismissive hand at them. "nwod em teg kcarc elttil a tel ot gniog ton m'I."

The others blinked at her. Ruby just blinked back, as if oblivious to how she had just sounded. Opal picked up Sapphire and Steven by their backs and quickly stated, "Get on the Pad."

* * *

When the lights fell away from the Warp Pad, Ruby fell flat on her face. Steven gasped and ran to her side, trying to pull her to her feet. However, no matter how hard he tried, Ruby's legs were unresponsive. They just uselessly flopped underneath her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Ruby's face showed clear anger and frustration, but he couldn't understand a word she said. "!sbmil dednuofnoc uoy ,evoM"

He heard a gasp, and looked up. He had meant to glance up at Opal and Sapphire, but they waned in favor of the mess that stood before them. Instead of a lush fountain with pure, flowing water, a towering cocoon of skeletal thorns stood before them, in a canyon between two cliffs. The dark vines were tightly knit together, rounding around one another as tightly as a hand's hold. Even by sight, Steven practically felt how sharp the thorns were. He felt his hand tingle where that old black spot had been, and he wiggled his fingers until it went away.

"Oh me, oh my." Opal chewed on her lip as she prodded at a length of thorns. It wriggled underneath her touch like a disturbed snake. "This is not good. This is not good at all."

Sapphire spoke up before Opal became consumed with worry. "We just have to break through these and get inside."

"Right. Right." Opal summoned her bow into her hands. She glared at the wall of thorns before her as she pulled back the bowstring. A shining white arrow appeared in her fingers. "Alright. Let's get rid of these useless things."

She let the arrow fly, and a good chunk of thorns and briers was blasted away by the force. Little bits fell around them like broken toy parts. They could walk about seven feet forward into the cocoon.

Opal drew her bowstring back once more and called over her shoulder, "Steven, you help Ruby, okay?"

Steven nodded and lifted one of Ruby's arms over his shoulders. Her legs were still useless, so he had to drag her forward. Opal continued to fire arrow after arrow into the briers to create a path for them. She was doing it quickly enough that they didn't have to stop after every arrow, instead walking at a steady, if not slow, pace.

Steven looked back down at Ruby. Her face was plaintive, almost a bit tired, but didn't appear to be in any pain. "How do you feel?"

".nevig a s'taht tub ,taerg toN"

Steven sighed. They were walking a little behind Opal and Sapphire. They probably didn't hear them over the constant blasting of the arrows. "Hey, Ruby can I ask you something?"

".toohS"

"Is it... _bad_ that I don't have Mom's healing powers?"

Her eyebrows furrowed at the same time that her eyes swelled and deflated randomly. "?naem uoy od tahW"

"I mean...is it bad that I don't have all of her powers?" Steven paused. "Don't get me wrong, I know you guys loved Mom, but...I don't really know all that much about her other than the fact that I should be like her. And every day, it seems like I'm learning something new that I'm going to need to live up to." He turned back to Ruby. "What if I'm not what I'm supposed to be?"

Ruby frowned at him. Her eyes were the size of pinpricks on her head. "?thgir ,dnatsrednu uoY. od dluohs uoy tahw s'taht dna meG a er'uoy esuaceb ylno tub ,poleved dna worg ot uoy t'naw eW .drah oot uoy hsup ot tnaw t'nod tsuj eW .od uoy taht yrros m'I .yaw taht leef uoy ekam ot naem t'nod ew dna ,ztrauQ esoR ekil yltcaxe eb ot evah t'nod ouY .ouy orf ouy evol ew ,nevetS."

"...Thank you. I guess."

With one final arrow, Opal blasted away the remaining briars blocking their path.

As they stepped through, Opal turned over her shoulder. "Anybody behind?"

".eM."

Everyone looked behind Ruby and Steven. The entire time that Steven had dragged Ruby with him, her feet had remained outside the cocoon, so Steven was really only holding Ruby's torso. From her chest down, her body turned into a red rope of sorts, winding behind her down the tunnel. A moment later, her legs appeared, blindly stumbling around.

"!ereh revO" shouted Ruby. "!no emoC!"

Her legs almost seemed to obey her voice, because they stumbled over to her before finally falling down at Steven's feet.

They finally came to the dimly-lit clearing inside the cocoon of thorns. The inside was blank and dry as bone, not a drop of water in sight. In the middle of the area sat a great, empty basin. On each side of the basin and in the middle stood statues slightly overgrown with moss and a few scattered pink blossoms. They all depicted a tall woman with a mass of curls for hair, her lovely face tilted downwards and her hands raised out. Steven knew exactly who she was - her portrait hung on a wall in his Room.

Steven hummed as he looked around. "It feels like something is...missing..."

"Water." Opal walked over to the basin and leaned forward to look inside. Not a drop to be seen. "Where's the _water_?"

"Maybe I have to activate it!" Steven leaned forward over the basin and strained his eyes as hard as he could, to the point that they almost bulged from his head.

"Steven..." Opal pulled him back, shaking her head. "Just...Just don't." She turned to Sapphire. "What's preventing the water flow?"

Sapphire paused. She looked the statue up and down, then turned to the walls of thorns encasing them. "There's probably something blocking the flow from the waterway."

"Well, let's go take care of it," said Opal. She turned to Steven. "You and Ruby stay here."

"!yaw oN" Ruby reached for her legs to put her hands on her hips. "!krow eht lla od syug uoy tel dna ereh yats ot gniog ton m'I"

Ruby suddenly froze. Her image wavered like disrupted static, fading in color, little more than mismatched shapes. It did this for a moment, and when she finally stopped, all of her colors had become inverted. All of her scarlets had become cyans, her crimsons turned to cobalts. Her eyes had become white dots on black canvases.

"!O G S' TE L"

* * *

Steven clutched Ruby close as they ventured deeper into the briers. Opal was once again using her arrows to pave themselves a path. Ruby's legs waddled after them as best as they could.

They finally came to the waterway that fueled the fountain. It appeared to run into the side of the cliff of the canyon, judging by the fact that it was in a wall of clay. A hole in the clay would serve as a passage for the water that would run off of its side into a little path in the ground. Unfortunately, the path was blocked off by thorns and the hole was stuffed with stones.

Opal hummed as she looked the obstacle up and down. "I think we can handle this. C'mon, Sapphire."

The two of them climbed onto the lip of the passage to begin their work. Meanwhile, Steven felt a small tug on his shirt and looked down at Ruby, still in his arms.

She was pointing behind him, saying, "!sgel yM"

Steven followed her pointing finger. The little "rope" connecting her legs to her torso winded behind them, into the tunnel they had emerged from. Steven shifted his hold on her and followed its trail.

Ruby's legs had walked into a mess of thorns. They were blindly squirming and kicking, but unable to break free.

Ruby smiled sheepishly up at Steven. "?pleh elttil A"

Steven gently set Ruby down on the ground so that she somewhat "sat" on her belly. He started tugging and breaking the brittle briers away from her legs, then pulled them out once he was finished. Her toes wiggled feebly.

"There." He turned to Ruby and grinned. "Guess there's no more...trouble afoot. Eh? Eh?"

Ruby's image flickered as she glowered at him. Then, her eyes went wide, but with fear rather than inflation. "!tuo kool ,nevetS"

No sooner had she backwards-said that then a sudden, prickly pair of 'arms' wrapped around Steven. He yelped and kicked, trying to fight the thorns away, but they just latched onto him tighter. They were pulling him, he realized, pulling him to the wall of briers. More vines wrapped around him. His skin stung all over from the dozens of scratches and cuts that they left.

He heard Ruby yelling, and realized that the briers had also grabbed a hold of her legs, and was now using her "rope" to tug her in with Steven. They were both captured into the wall of thorns and vines, and everything was dark and sharp and Steven couldn't see a thing.

He was vaguely aware that the vines were still moving them, surging them forwards, tossing them left and right. Lines of red littered his skin. Ruby was yelping and screaming what he could only assume was a garbled version of his name. Every now and then, he'd see a flash of blue from her, but nothing else.

They finally stopped, but only so the vines could wrap them in a vice. Steven felt their points digging into his skin, drawing blood, but he dared not move. Ruby had stopped right in front of him. She fought and squirmed as hard as she could, but the briers wrapped so tightly around her that all she could do was groan and flicker.

"Ruby, what do I do?" Steven gasped out.

Ruby did not reply. She could only wheeze and grunt as she strained as hard as she could. Her image flickered more, and Steven's eyes went to her arm, which was being held out by brittle vines. The cracks on her Gem were growing. From the main lines, little branches grew out like frost, and Steven could hear the light crackling sounds they made.

"Ruby, stop! Your Gem!"

Ruby stilled herself once she caught sight of what he was talking about. She continued to fade in and out. Steven wouldn't be surprised if she finally poofed away, back into her Gem and never to emerge again.

"Here, put it against my eye!"

"nevetS - "

He moved his only free arm to grab her Gem-holding hand and press it against his eye. He squeezed his eyelids shut as hard as he could, strained every muscle in his head, anything and everything to try and help. If he could heal Ruby's Gem, she would surely be able to get them out of this.

He pulled her hand back, but even though there was clear wetness streaked across her Gem, it remained splintered. He felt more tears running down his cheeks, so he pressed her Gem to his skin once more.

"Come on," he groaned. "Come _on_..."

His tears remained ineffective on her Gem. That didn't stop them from falling, and he took in a shuddering breath as he murmured, "I'm sorry, Ruby. I can't...I'm not..."

 _I'm not my mother._

The hand in his shifted, and he felt something cool and hard pressed against his lips. Ruby was hardly able to keep her form anymore. Every other second, she was flickering or warping, flashing blue and red, her face unfamiliar.

That didn't stop her from speaking in a slow, static voice. "D-n't ry...plea-don...cry..."

Steven felt the thorns wrap tighter around him. They weren't stopping anymore. They were absolutely squeezing him, reading to crush or shred him. He just kept Ruby's Gem pressed to his lips and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting.

Suddenly, everything sharp and tight turned soft and light. Steven opened his eyes, and for just a split second, he saw that the dark, brittle briers had been replaced with pink blossoms, as soft as skin.

Then, he was falling.

He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and screamed. After a second or two of weightlessness, he landed in something firm, but not painfully hard. They felt like a pair of stony arms, and before he could open his eyes, something was splashing on his face, cool and sweet and comforting. All of the stinging and burning on his body washed away to nothing. He finally cracked his eyes open.

He had landed safely in the arms of the biggest statue of Rose Quartz. From her closed eyes of stone, waterfalls of sparkling water were pouring directly over him. Steven turned and looked around him.

There were no more thorns, no more vines, no more dimness. Sunshine was making the crystalline water all around him sparkle and shimmer. Delicate flower petals fell through the air like soft snowflakes.

Steven turned to look back at the face of Rose Quartz. How odd...he could have sworn that her hands had been raised higher, not close enough to catch him...

"Steven!"

Something lifted him from the statue's hold and lowered him down into the cool water below. A familiar pair of dark eyes on a canvas of scarlet skin smiled down at him.

"Ruby!"

Ruby rustled his hair as she laughed, "Me!"

They heard footsteps, and turned to see Opal and Sapphire running to the edge of the basin. They both seemed equally surprised and confused. Ruby and Steven both quickly swam over to them, and they were both pulled out and to their feet, dripping wet and speckled with flower petals.

"Thank goodness," sighed Opal. She picked and plucked at the petals in Steven's hair. "We just got the water unblocked when we realized you two were gone." She looked over at Ruby. "How do you feel?"

Ruby held up her palm to them. Her Gem, clean and perfectly smooth, glinted sharp red in the sunlight. With her free hand, she snapped her fingers at them and winked. "Remarkably not-cracked."

A smile came to Sapphire's lips as she placed a small hand on Steven's shoulder. A moment later, she sidestepped out of the way as Opal stepped forward. She reached a hand to the smooth Gem at her forehead and withdrew a towel from it a moment later. She knelt down and swaddled Steven in it. "Let's go home, huh?"

That was met with a mutual agreement, and they all turned in the direction of the Warp Pad. Ruby stretched her arms over her head with a deep breath. "I'm kinda hungry. Is the Mac-Train still running?"


	18. The Mirror

Connie's nimble fingers shifted from string to string on the violin resting on her shoulder. Her other hand pulled across them, dragging out the notes, creating a light melody. G, D, G, A, and now G -

Connie flinched when she pulled an E string instead. She sighed and ceased her playing to start over from the beginning. However, she stopped when she heard a muffled ringing sound coming from the direction of the kitchen.

She hastily set her violin aside and dashed there, pulling the phone off of the wall before it was too late. She pressed it to her ear and recited the opening message her mother had taught her. "Connie Maheswaran speaking from Beach City."

 _"Hi, Connie."_

Usually, the familiar voice of her best friend would make Connie smile. It was typically the part where she enthusiastically greeted him, asked him how he was doing, if anything particularly cool or magical had happened in his day. However, Steven's voice was warm or inviting, it was slow and heavy.

She instead frowned and said, "Hey, Steven. What's wrong?"

She heard a deep sigh on the other line. _"Can you come over? I'm not allowed to leave my Room right now."_

She could sense that something was amiss. She took a glance at the clock. Technically, she was supposed to be practicing her violin at the moment, but her parents were both out of town on business and wouldn't know the difference. Plus, the babysitter upstairs couldn't care less about her, so it was likely that Connie could go out for days on end unnoticed.

"Sure. I'll be over in a minute."

* * *

She was lucky enough to catch the bus before it headed back into Beach City. Once it stopped at the station, she made her way to the Temple, passing through streets and over sidewalks until she made it to the beach. It was a particularly calm day outside. The clouds were flat; the sun was light enough to look at, the seagulls drifted lazily in the breeze. Not even the ocean was stirring.

She walked up the sand-crusted stairs to Steven's Room and politely knocked on the screen door. Inside, there was a muffled, "Come in."

She stepped inside, her eyes searching the room behind her rose-tinted glasses until they finally landed on a familiar figure. He was seated on the sofa with his legs to his chest and his arms wrapped around him. She couldn't see his face because it was pressed into his knees.

She walked over to him and lightly tapped on his shoulder. "Steven?"

"Heeeey." He didn't lift his face up to her and kept speaking into his knees. "How are you doiiiing?"

There was nothing enthusiastic about his voice whatsoever. Connie sat down beside him and dug into the deep pockets of her overalls. She withdrew two round peaches that had come from her fridge at her house held one out to Steven. "Want one? I know peaches are your comfort food."

He paused, but his hand eventually lifted to take the fruit from her. Then it went right back to cradling his legs.

Connie looked him up and down as she chewed on her peach. She wiped the sticky juice from her lips before she asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Steven finally raised his head. His cheeks were clean from tears, but his eyes were heavily bagged. It looked like his entire face was drooping off of his skull.

He breathed out, "I really bonked up, Connie." Then he took a slow, lazy bite of his peach.

Her dark eyebrows furrowed together. "Are you in trouble with the Crystal Gems?"

Judging by the low, long groan that followed, the answer was yes.

"You can vent to me, if you want." Connie took another bite of her peach and shrugged. "Or we can just sit here and sulk for a while. That usually makes me feel better."

"No, it's okay." Steven's legs shifted so that he was properly sitting on the sofa. Well, almost. His back was more on the seating cushion than the back of the sofa. "I'll tell you."

As Connie lifted her legs to tuck them underneath her, Steven began his tale. "It all started two days ago...nights ago. It was nighttime."

* * *

 **TWO NIGHTS PRIOR**

* * *

Steven opened his eyes.

Everything was...soft. The tall, pink grass rustling around him was soft; the wind rustling through the air was soft. The sky above was a rosy expanse, cloudless and unmoving. As far as his eyes could see, the grass danced in the wind, creating a pink ocean all around him. A single hill stood in the near distance. He could see a single, crooked tree, and items littered amongst its roots and branches.

It was so beautiful and warm, but he had no idea where he was. Nothing looked familiar, sounded familiar, or smelled fa -

Smell.

Air.

He couldn't breathe!

He sputtered and squirmed when he found that his lungs refused to inhale. His nose felt blocked, unwilling to accept anything. He kicked and pulled as hard as he could -

\- until he fell back through the grass and landed on the familiar cushion of his bed.

He gasped for air once he was lying on his back. His Room was lit yellow with the rising sun in the east, shadows spreading out over every surface. When he felt he could, he pushed himself to his elbows and looked to see what stood before him.

The only thing besides him in the room was Lion.

Steven blinked at Lion several times, completely lost and confused. Who, what, where, and why questions swam around in his sleep-fuzzy head.

His brain pieced together a possible solution. He had been dreaming about being in a pink, grassy field when Lion had laid over him, smothering him into his mane until his body realized what was going on and woke himself up. Then again...that felt so real to him. He had felt the wind and the tickling grass. But there was no other explanation, right?

So he half-sighed, half-yawned as he looked up at the giant feline on his bed. "Lion, what are you doing in here? You have your own bed outside."

Lion blinked at him.

A small, happy but curious smile lifted Steven's cheeks. "Aw, did you just want to come sleep with lil' ole me?"

Lion blinked at him.

"Oh, how can I resist those big kitten eyes?" Steven rolled over and pulled the blankets back over his body. He fluffed his pillow once more and laid his head back. "You can stay, but no more smothering, okay?"

He closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into his pillow. He could hear the clock ticking in the living room, and every now and then, there'd be a tiny crack or a creak from the wood of the house.

It felt like he had just lain down when he felt the mattress dipping around him with sudden weight. His eyes were met with a mess of soft pink hair, and he blanched.

"Lion, no - !"

That's all he managed to get out before he found himself smothered once more. He squirmed and wriggled in the soft fur as best as he could, even if it was useless.

A moment later, the hair fell away, and he was met with open air.

The scene was laid before him once more - fields of pink grass, endless sky, a single hill with a single tree. However, the hill was closer now; closer enough for him to see that there was some kind of cloth swaying from one of the branches.

However, he quickly lost air and went to squirming once more. His struggle did not last as long this time. He pulled himself back, and he once again fell on his bed with a bouncing thump.

Lion blinked down at him as calmly as ever. Steven blinked back up, until he looked into Lion's light mane. He curiously lifted a hand and pressed it to the soft hair. At first, that was all he felt, but then the area around his hand began to glow white, and his hand sank deeper. He moved his arm forward until he was positive that he was feeling the rustling grass and the wind against his fingertips.

Steven pulled his hand back. Lion's mane was...a portal?

* * *

Connie almost choked on her peach. She swallowed it down and kept sputtering as she cried, _"What?"_

Steven nodded. "That's what I said."

* * *

 _"What?"_ Steven cried as he sat up straight on his bed. Lion leaned back to give him some room. His tail flicked lazily behind him.

Steven pressed his hands into Lion's mane several times more. In, glow, out, in, glow, out. Lion remained still until the twelfth time, in which he finally leaned forward and pressed his nose to Steven's forehead to get him to stop.

Steven sputtered dumbly. "You - I - How - Whaaaaaaat?"

Lion, of course, did not answer.

"You have a secret place in your mane?" Steven ran some of the strands through his fingers. "What is with all the secret places?" Then an idea came to his head, and he quickly tossed back the sheets of his bed to stand to his feet. "I should tell the Crystal Gems right n - Oof!"

He fell front-first to the floor when Lion suddenly tackled him from behind. Luckily, he landed on a tossed pillow, so his fall was not a painful one. Lion crawled off a moment later to sit beside Steven and stare down at him as if nothing had happened.

"Lion, what - ?" Steven moved to sit up, only for Lion to press a paw to his chest and force him back down to the floor. Steven frowned and gave him a quick and painless swat on his paw, enough for Lion to allow him to at least sit up. "Bad kitty! Why can't I go tell the Crystal Gems now? Do you need me to do something?"

Lion lifted up a paw to rub at his nose.

"I understand." Steven stood to his feet and looked around the Room. It was getting lighter the higher that the sun. The clock said that it was nearing eight o'clock. The Gems would probably be in their Rooms for another half-hour or so.

He quickly padded down the steps to the living room, and then made a beeline to the front door. He pulled it open as quietly as possible (as if the Crystal Gems could even hear him) and whispered up to Lion, "Come on!"

Lion obediently trotted down the stairs and out of the door. Steven shut the door behind him and followed.

Just a few minutes later, Steven was in the fields of grass once more. He had taken a deep breath of air this time, so he had longer to look around than before. He quickly weaved his way through the grass until he could climb up the hill's side, and once at the top, he looked around at all the items there.

The cloth that hung from the tree branch was actually a dark T-shirt that read _Mr. Universe_ on the front in bright letters. Steven instantly recognized the title - it was the name that his father had taken up in his rock star days. But what was it doing here? Above one of the branches was a pink bubble holding a peculiar-looking Gem. The bubble looked identical to one he himself would conjure. Embedded in the ground of the roots was a pole, and at the end of it hung a tattered pink cloth depicting an unfamiliar symbol of triangles.

There was also a box in there; too, a small cardboard one nestled at the foot of the tree. Inside, there was a single VHS tape, a crumpled-up, grease-stained bag, and something shiny at the bottom that Steven couldn't quite make out.

As he looked around at the pink landscape, the Bubbled Gem, and the tattered flagpole, Steven came to a conclusion at the exact time that he ran out of air.

He slowly let some out, enough for his lungs to start burning, and glanced inside the box once more. He blindly reached inside for the shiny item at the bottom, wrapped his fingers around something cool and smooth, and jumped off the hill into the grass.

He landed on the sand of the beach just a moment later. He took in several gulps of oxygen before he pushes himself to his feet. He looked up at Lion, who just serenely stared down at him.

"Lion...did you know Mom?"

* * *

"Ohhhhhhhh." Connie stroked her chin thoughtfully. She snapped her fingers. "That would explain why he's pink."

Steven considered that for a moment. "...Oh, yeah, I guess I didn't think about that. Huh. Anyway..."

* * *

Lion did not reply and just blinked down at Steven, as he always did.

Steven sighed out of his nose. "Even my own pet knew my mother better than me."

He paused, and then realized that he was still holding the object from the box. He held it up for inspection.

It looked like a small hand mirror of sorts. It was light silver in color, elegant in design, and gave a light glint in the early sun. The glass was smooth and untarnished save for the light decorative lines etched into it, but the same could not be said for the back. A decorative blue gemstone, shaped like a teardrop, was embedded in the mirror. However, it was cracked severely. Two crooked lines ran along the surface like broken fingers.

Steven hummed curiously as he turned it left and right in his hand. "Weird." He ran a finger along the top. Not a speck of dirt or dust to be seen. "Pretty, though. Hey, Lion, why do you have this?"

Lion had taken to rolling around in the sand on his back. If he heard Steven, he ignored him, instead just purring away.

Steven made a sort of 'harrumph' sound and turned back to the mirror. It could have been a simple household object, but then, why would Rose Quartz given it to Lion for safekeeping? Maybe there was more to it than met the eye.

"Hello?" he asked it. He lightly swayed it side-to-side. "Is anyone there? Can you hear me?"

He was met with silence and the reflection of his own face.

"You don't have to be shy. I won't hurt you." Silence once more. He wondered aloud to himself, "Maybe Dad will know what it is...Hey, Lion, wait for me, okay?"

He quickly dashed back up the stairs to his Room to get a change of clothes. Not even ten minutes later, he was back outside, in his normal star-printed T-shirt and denim jeans, with the mirror held safely in his hand. He kept a secure hold on it as he rode on Lion's back through Beach City. As they did, Steven caught glimpses of the political flyers posted up on windows and building walls depicting Mayor Dewey's face. As always, he was campaigning for mayor of Beach City. Steven didn't even know who else was running, if anyone.

He and Lion finally made it to It's a Wash! and walked up just as Yellowtail the fisherman was climbing into his car. Greg looked particularly worn out, probably because the car was towing a boat behind it, making it too big to go into the actual carwash and necessitating it be washed by hand. Yellowtail and Greg waved each other goodbye as the former pulled back into the street.

Greg wiped the sweat from his brow and turned when he heard approaching footsteps. At the first sight of the giant feline running full-speed to him, Greg yelped and jumped back, knocking over a bucket of soapy water. He took a deep breath and relaxed when he realized that it was simply his son.

"Hey, Steven," he greeted with a shaky smile.

"Hi, Dad!" Steven carefully climbed off of Lion's back with one hand. "How's business going, old chap?"

"Just fine, gov'na," his father replied. He overdramatically waved a hand to the small table set up outside of his van. "Care for some lemonade and crumpets while you're visitin'?"

"Thank you, good sir."

They both chuckled as they walked over to the van. Lion stayed behind, settling down in the grass and lowering his head to his paws for a nap.

Steven took a seat on the back of the van as his father tended to pouring them two plastic cups of cool lemonade from a small pitcher. He handed one to Steven, and a crumpet, too. (It was actually just a glazed donut.) He sat down by his son with a sigh of relief.

"Hoo boy," he groaned to himself. He took in a large gulp of lemonade. "Here's a lesson, Steven - never take a wash appointment for seven-thirty in the morning."

"Fishermen have tight schedules."

"That is true." He took a bite of his donut and muffled out, "Th'o what bring'th you here tho early?"

Steven set his lemonade down to pick up the mirror beside him. When he held it out to his father, Greg raised a brow. "Does this look familiar to you?"

Greg set his lemonade down as well and hummed as he took the mirror into his own hand. He turned it front and back, his eyebrows knit together. He shook his head. "Can't say I do. Where'd you find it?"

Steven considered telling him honestly. It was admittedly very, very strange, having a pet with a portal in his mane filled with stuff that his mother used to own, but it seemed simple enough. Then again, his father still was not a fan of magic or Gem-related oddities. He would probably feel very uncomfortable talking about it.

So instead, Steven explained, "It was in an old box of stuff at my Room. I was just curious."

"Oh." Greg shrugged. "Sorry, buddy. Maybe you can ask one of the Gems what it is – _Whop_!"

Greg accidentally squeezed the handle too tightly, and it slid from his wet fingers. Steven dived forward instinctively. He caught the mirror with the glass against one palm and the back against another. He and Greg both sighed in relief.

"Sorry about that," Greg chuckled sheepishly.

There was a distant honking, and the both of them looked up to see the Dewey-mobile driving up to the carwash. The mayor's papier-mâchéface fluttered in the passing wind. Greg sighed and pushed himself to his feet.

"Early bird catches the worm," he murmured to himself. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Let me go see what's up. Watch the fort for me, while ya?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

Greg walked away and waved to the mayor as he stepped out of his vehicle. Steven wiped his fingerprints away from the glass of the mirror with the hem of his shirt and set it down beside him. He gave it one last curious look before reaching for his lemonade once more. He downed it in two short swallows.

He was just moving to get another drink when he heard a voice say, _"Thank you, good sir."_

He froze instantly. For one thing, he had no idea where that voice was coming from, and for another thing, that voice sounded exactly like his. He turned left and right like a startled animal.

"Hello?" he called.

He received no answer. As he turned, his eyes fell back down to the mirror. His own confused face stared back up at him, dumbly blinking and mouth agape.

He slowly lifted the mirror into his hands. It remained silent and still.

Curiously, he spoke, "Did you say something...?"

For a moment, there was nothing. Then, on the glass of the mirror, came the image of himself, but not a reflection. It was more like a projection, or a television broadcast. He was standing where he was a just a few minutes ago, smiling up at someone off-screen.

As he watched, the mirror version of himself chirped, _"Thank you, good sir!"_

Then the image faded away, and Steven was once again looking at his wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression. He just stared at it dumbly.

* * *

Connie's eyebrows raised on her forehead. "The mirror could _talk_?"

Steven shrugged. "Apparently so."

* * *

"Can you...hear me? Understand me?"

The mirror did not pause so long this time. Now it was depicting an even more recent image of Steven. He was sitting on the edge of the van just as he was now, but he was giving a thumbs-up. The image gave a recorded confirmation of _"Aye, aye, Captain!"_ before fading once more.

"Oh..." Steven cradled the mirror in his palms. He kind of felt bad for handling it so roughly. "Well...what are you thanking me for?"

The mirror depicted a small clip. The mirror slipped from Greg's hands, and Steven dived forward to catch it in his. They both sighed in relief.

A small smile lifted up Steven's lips. "You're welcome. Do you have a name? Or do you want me to just call you 'Mirror'?"

The mirror did not respond.

"Sorry, was that insensitive? I'm so sorry. I'll just call you 'Buddy', alright?" No response, so he continued warmly, "Nice to meet you, buddy. My name is—"

Before he could finish, the mirror was changing once more, now into an image of Greg as he rubbed at the back of his neck and smiled shakily. _"–Steven."_

Steven gasped. He couldn't stop his eyes from going starry with delight. "That's right!"

"Hey, Steven!"

Steven lifted his eyes from the mirror to his father as he quickly jogged over to him. Greg jabbed a thumb at the Dewey-mobile over his shoulder. "Sorry, buddy—emergency wash for a higher power. But hey, do you want to leave the mirror here? I might find something in the storage unit that could help figure out what it is."

Steven took a quick glance down at the mirror. It was showing a back-to-back clip of Greg shaking his head.

"No, it's okay. I'll just go ask the Gems about it."

"Alright," Greg said with a shrug. He turned on his heel and waved over his shoulder. "Later, tater!"

Steven waved back as he trotted back over to Lion. The large cat grumbled when Steven shook his side, and slowly gathered himself to his feet. Steven climbed onto his back once more.

* * *

"And then you took it to the Gems?"

Steven sheepishly ran a hand up and down his arm. It was a moment before he replied, "No, not immediately..."

* * *

Once Lion was trotting down the street again, Steven held the mirror up to his eyes. His own brown irises stared back at him.

"I have so many questions to ask," he told it. Smiling, he asked, "What's your favorite color?"

The mirror did not respond.

"...Okay, what's your favorite animal?"

The mirror did not respond.

"What's your favorite...number?"

The mirror did not respond.

"Favorite anything?"

The mirror went white, as if pausing in thought. When the clips came onto its glass face, they were little snippets, momentary sequences piecing together a response.

 _"Why - are you - talk - ing - to - me?"_

Steven frowned at the question. "Because you're my buddy. Buddies talk. Unless you don't want to - then we won't."

It paused again, but replied, _"No, it's okay."_

Steven's smile returned to his face. "Great! Why don't I show you around Beach City? I can do the talking."

 _"Aye, aye, Captain!"_

A few minutes later, the two of them - well, the three of them - were trotting up to Beach City Boardwalk Fries. It was still fairly early in the day, so the Boardwalk was virtually empty except for them. Lion stopped beside the stand to allow Steven to crawl off of his back and onto his feet.

Steven held the mirror's face up to the miniature restaurant. He wasn't sure whether it would be able to see anything, but if it did, then he wanted it to see everything.

"This is Beach City Boardwalk Fries," he told the mirror. "Home of the best fries on the Beach City boardwalk! Maybe fry aren't the best substitute for the most important meal of the day, but hey, I'm hungry and that's all that matters."

He walked up to the counter and quickly tapped on the small bell there. At first, there was nothing. Steven couldn't see anyone inside the restaurant, even though the lights were on and the deep-fryers were bubbling. He considered that maybe they weren't officially open for business yet, and had just turned on his heel when he heard a sudden scuffling, followed by the sound of several pots and utensils falling over.

Peedee Fryman appeared so suddenly at the counter that Steven jumped back in surprise. The blonde-haired boy had an ecstatic smile from ear to ear.

"I knew it," he cheered. "I told Dad that we could get extra credit if we open for breakfast!" He reached underneath the counter top and withdrew a small notepad and a pencil. "What can I get for you?"

Steven held the mirror up to Peedee. "This is Peedee Fryman, younger prince of the Fryman dynasty." He turned back to the other boy. "Regular order of fries, please, with extra bits."

"Extra bits are an additional twenty-five cents."

"Deal."

Peedee clicked his pen in satisfaction and turned on his heel. Not a moment later, Ronaldo Fryman was stepping into the room, stretching his arms above his head with a yawn with a white apron tied around his waist. He lazily scratched at the light stubble on his chin until his eyes finally took notice of Steven.

He gave a friendly smile and waved as he came to the counter. "Steven! My number-one source for all things weird in Beach City." The smile on his face dropped as he quickly withdrew a small recorder from his back pocket. "Have you noticed anything unusual lately?"

"Nope. Sorry, Ronaldo." Steven had the gut feeling that the mirror didn't want to be inspected and pored over by Ronaldo, so he kept it hidden from sight. Still, he kept it facing upwards to it could hear and see what was going on.

Ronaldo hummed and clicked his recorder off. Then the friendly smile returned to his face. "So are you coming to the screening of _Ghost Storm_ tonight?"

"What's that?"

Ronaldo pulled his phone from his other pocket and held it out for Steven to see. It showed a decade-old trailer for the film in question. Apparently, the story was about a bunch of teenagers being trapped inside an old ski lift right as a raging storm blows into the mountains and is so out-of-control that the ancient ghosts in the mountains are disturbed from their slumber and begin attacking everything in sight. The trailer ended with a sudden scream that made Steven jump back, frightened.

As he put his phone away, Ronaldo explained, "It's a horror classic. It's going to be screened on the beach tonight. You coming?"

Steven nodded. "Sure! Sounds like fun!"

"IT WILL NOT BE FUN." Steven jumped back when Ronaldo suddenly slammed his palms onto the counter top. Ronaldo's eyes narrowed at him as he whispered, _"It will be the exact opposite of fun."_

Ronaldo was elbowed out of the way by his younger brother. Peedee glowered up at him as he held out the small, grease-stained box to Steven. "Stop scaring off the customers."

Steven paid for the fries and walked a small ways down the boardwalk until he came to a small but fairly clean bench at the edge. He sat down and carefully propped the mirror against the back so it could see the ocean. Steven could tell that they would be getting some good weather just in time for summer. Everything was clear and sunny, not particularly too hot or too cold. As they watched, a flock of seagulls fluttered over the ocean waves.

Steven nibbled on a French fry as he asked the mirror, "The ocean is really pretty, isn't it?"

The mirror did not respond, but it felt like a silence of confirmation rather than annoyance.

He finished his fries and bits in silence. Afterwards, he tossed the empty box away into the nearby trash can and leaned back in the bench.

"If you want, we can go out there later," he offered. "We don't have a boat, but Lion can walk on water. We could go out as far as you want." He turned to smile down at the mirror. "How does that s - GAH!"

Steven jumped back when he saw the new visitor standing beside him. It was a small child with pale skin and a single tuft of blonde hair and a blue cloth tied around his shoulders like a cape. He blinked up at Steven silently.

Steven breathed a shuddering sigh of relief. "Oh, Onion, it's just you. You've got to stop scaring me like that. Is there something you need?"

Onion did not respond, as usual for him. Instead, his eyes turned away from Steven to the object beside him. He reached out and plucked the mirror off of the bench.

Steven immediately sat up straight. "Hey, Onion, no, no, no, give that back!"

He reached out for the mirror, but Onion just took a step back and further from his reach. Steven frowned and lunged with as much force as he could in hopes of catching Onion off-guard. However, Onion just pulled the mirror back more and let Steven fall down onto the salty boards below.

Steven frowned up at Onion from where he laid on the boardwalk. He knew Onion - if he tried too hard to get the mirror back, Onion would just take off like a bullet, and he would probably never see it again. All he could do was pray that Onion didn't do anything reckless. He hoped that the mirror was fireproof.

Onion held the mirror up to his face as he blinked at his own reflection. He held the pose for a good thirty seconds. Then he was lifting up a sudden hammer in his free hand.

Steven was back on his feet with more speed than he ever thought he was capable of. He lunged for the mirror once more, but Onion just stepped back. His stance was warning - he would run if Steven didn't back off.

"Onion, please! Give it back!"

Onion ignored him and lifted up the hammer once more.

However, just as the hammer came swinging, the glass of the mirror changed to the last image that Steven had seen in the trailer for _Ghost Storm_ , of a ghost with its mouth open in a scream. A horrifying shriek emitted from the mirror.

Onion's hammer remained immobile as blinked at the mirror silently. Then he calmly handed it back to Steven, turned on his heel, and left.

Steven was so surprised that it took him a moment to fully understand what had happened. When he did, he burst out into laughter with the mirror shaking in his hand. He gulped in several breaths of air to calm down before holding up the mirror.

"That was great! I didn't—"

The mirror shrieked once more, and Steven almost dropped it in shock. However, just a moment after the shrieking, the mirror changed to him just a few seconds ago. The mirror was using the clip of him to laugh.

Steven chuckled. "I like you, mirror. You're alright." He winked down at it.

The mirror winked back at him.

* * *

"So then what happened?" asked Connie. She had pulled a blanket over her legs.

Steven, with the other half of the blanket over him, shrugged and replied, "Pretty much one of those friendship montages with a cheesy guitar song in the background. We went to the arcade, then to Funland, then to the Pizzaria. We had a good time."

* * *

Steven sighed contentedly as he, with the mirror in hand, walked down the boardwalk in the direction of the beach. He had a small stuffed octopus he had won from Funland tucked under his arm, as well as a small bag of toys from the arcade. He had a towel tucked under the other arm. It was getting close to evening. The sky was turning dark blue on the horizon, and the sun was setting low on the ocean.

The two of them trotted down to the sand. Up ahead, a few people were setting up a projector and a canvas screen for the _Ghost_ Storm showing. A handful of people had already spread out towels, blankets, and pillows in the sand. Steven recognized Sadie and Lars on side-by-side towels, the Cool Kids on a jumbo-sized picnic blanket, and Ronaldo near the front on his phone, probably to live-feed the showing on his blog.

He walked to the back of the crowd and set down the other items in the sand for a moment while he spread out the towel. He sat down and propped the mirror against the stuffed octopus.

"That was fun, huh?" Steven asked. He reached into his bag of prizes and started rummaging around. "Let's look at the spoils, shall we?"

He withdrew a small plastic maze with a little marble to roll to the center. "Here's one of those maze thingies to make me angry at gravity."

He took out a small toy filled with water and little plastic hoops. The front held two small buttons for pushing in air. "Here's a hoop-shooter thingy to make me angry at water."

He then took out a small sheet of facial stickers. "But here's the real doubloons!" He took off the thin sheet of plastic and peeled off a small pink rabbit nose for himself. He pressed it to the end of his nose, and then went to peel another one. "Here, you can have one, too."

He peeled off a sticker of a curled mustache and stuck it to the glass of the mirror. A moment later, the mirror conjured up an image of Steven, just where the mustache would be on his upper lip. Steven laughed.

A moment later, the projector was fired up and ready to go and a hush fell over the crowd. Steven leaned back, and made sure the mirror could see everything.

The film lasted an hour and a half, beginning with the teenagers arriving at the ski lift and ending with the last girl falling off of...something. Steven had no idea. Once the first ghost showed up at the halfway mark, he decided that he'd had enough and contended himself with lying down and closing his eyes. He just listened to the dialogue, music, and occasional scream or shriek.

Finally, he heard the talk of the crowd rise once more, and opened his eyes. The sky was velvet purple and starry and the moon was high. The projector was shut off and everyone was gathering their things. Ronaldo typed up his last opinion onto his blog.

He picked up the mirror and peeled off the mustache-sticker. "Can you sum up the movie for me?"

The mirror showed a quick recap of the film from where he had stopped watching. The face of a ghost here, the swing of a knife there. The mirror ended it with showing what Steven had guessed: the final girl lost her balance and fell from the canyon. After a quick flash of credits, the mirror was back to its reflective self.

Steven rolled up his towel and grabbed all of his items. Once he had everything, he called, "LI-ON!"

The pink feline appeared just a moment later, leaping off of the boardwalk and trotting to Steven. He had been walking away from them and reappearing all day. He knelt down, allowing Steven onto his back, and made his way back to the Temple.

Once he was inside his Room, he made a beeline for the sofa to set his stuff down. Ruby and Sapphire had finally appeared from their Rooms for the day. Ruby was doing push-ups on the floor, while Sapphire was seated at the island of the kitchen. Opal was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, guys," he greeted them.

"Hey, Steve." "Hm."

He placed everything on the sofa. He paused for a second, and then tucked the mirror underneath his towel. It seemed pretty shy with anyone except for him, so he didn't want all of the Crystal Gems crowding around it.

He turned for the kitchen, and as he came to the cabinets, he asked them, "Does anyone want anything in particular for supper?"

Ruby stood to her feet with one last push-up. She dusted her hands off with each other and replied, "I'm good with anything."

"I'm not hungry," stated Sapphire.

Steven took out two containers from the spice rack and one from the cabinet and turned to the island. He put a small bag of sugar onto the top. "Sweet—" He put a container of salt up. "—salty—" He put a container of oregano up. "—or savory?"

Ruby hummed thoughtfully, stroking her chin. She held up a finger to the sugar, hesitated, then pulled it back. She looked between the salt oregano. "Salty...No, savory. No, wait...yeah, no, savory. Wait." Her eyes closed in on the salt. "Wait...yeah...yeah, yeah, yeah..." She turned back to the oregano. "Savory."

The door opened just as Steven reached for the oregano. Opal quickly stepped into the Room with three flat cardboard boxes in her hands. The familiar scent of tomato sauce and cheese wafted inside.

"Still your chef-ing!" She declared. She held up the boxes triumphantly. "I bring the gift of Italian cuisine!"

Ruby and Steven both cheered. Sapphire simply held up a thumbs-up. Opal dropped the pizza boxes side-by-side with expert speed, and then opened them with one hand each.

As Steven pulled the Styrofoam plates from the cabinets and approached the first box - Opal had gotten three different kinds, pepperoni, meat lovers', and cinnamon - Opal smiled down at him and asked, "So how did your day go?"

"It was good," Steven replied. He pulled out a slice of pepperoni and frowned at the almost desperate strings of cheese attached to it. "I went to go see Dad..." He pulled to the left, but the strings stayed. "...then I went to the Boardwalk..." He pulled right, but still with no results. He sighed and reached beneath him to pull open a drawer. "...and then I went to the arcade." He pulled out a pair of scissors and snipped away at the strings of cheese.

Opal 'oohed' at the last comment and smiled hopefully. "Did you get me one of those little frogs with the eyes that bulge out when you squeeze 'em?"

Steven nodded. "Yep! In the bag on the couch!"

Opal giddily skipped away to go fetch it whilst clapping her hands. Meanwhile, Ruby hummed thoughtfully as she looked around at the pizzas. After a moment, she spoke to Steven, "You know, I'm curious...does pizza have to be circular?"

Steven's jaw dropped. He was absolutely appalled. "Of course it does. We can't have triangular pizza!"

Sapphire lifted up a single slice of the meat lover's and held it out for them to inspect. "It's already triangular."

"Yeah," agreed Ruby. She lifted up one of the boxes with furrowed brows. "And the boxes are square."

"STOP IT!" Steven dropped his plate to clamp his hands over his ears. "YOU'RE MAKING ME HAVE AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS."

"Steven...Why do you have this?"

Steven looked past Ruby to Opal...and instantly felt his stomach clench just slightly. Opal had found the mirror underneath the towel, and was now holding it with confusion written across her features. Her eyes were trained on the cracked blue gemstone on the back of it.

* * *

Connie frowned. She had the sinking feeling that the story was going to go downhill very soon. "What did she do?"

Steven's expression had dropped once more, and he was no longer looking at her. With his eyes on his toes, he continued, "She was really confused at first..."

* * *

"Why do you have this?" Opal asked again.

"Um..." Steven fumbled for an answer. His fingers twitched on his plate. "I found it."

Ruby hopped off of her seat and jogged over to Opal. Sapphire followed a moment later, leaving Steven watching the scene with a sinking feeling in his belly. They both looked up at the mirror curiously.

"I was wondering where I had put this..." Opal murmured thoughtfully. Her eyebrows furrowed over her stark blue eyes. "I thought I had just lost it…"

Sapphire reached out to run a gloved finger over the branches in the gemstone's surface. She hummed, "Is it dangerous?"

"It's trapped," answered Ruby. "It can't do anything."

Opal sighed through her nose and placed a hand on her hip. She gave the mirror one last once-over before deciding, "We should probably Bubble it for now. Just in case."

The mirror, which had remained unresponsive in Opal's hand before, suddenly flickered to life. It showed quick clip of Steven saying "No", except it was so loud and forced that it almost caused the mirror to vibrate. The Crystal Gems jumped in surprise. Steven felt a bead of sweat running down his back.

"It can talk," Ruby noted after a moment of silence. She sputtered, "Why? How?"

"It's more powerful than I would have given it credit for," Opal whispered. She hovered a hand above the mirror in preparation. "I'm going to Bubble it."

The mirror once more cried Steven's "NO!" at the same time that Steven threw his plate of pizza onto the countertop and rounded the island to them, shouting, "No, no, no, no!"

Opal did not Bubble the Gem, but she did frown down at Steven as he approached. She seemed more curious than angry when she asked, "Why didn't you tell us about this?"

"Please don't Bubble it," Steven pleaded. For extra measure, he clasped his hands together and shook them. "It's scared! Please!"

At first taken aback by Steven's sudden insistence, Ruby waved her hands at him in a gesture to calm him down. "Steven, it's just a mirror."

Sapphire calmly told him, "It's nothing to worry about."

The mirror played two quick snippets of clips to give a cry of _"Don't Bubble - me!"_

"See?" insisted Steven. He feared that his words were falling on deaf ears. "It's not like it's hurting anyone! Come on!"

"Steven," Opal said, slowly, with one hand still hovering over the mirror, "calm down. We know what we're doing."

The mirror spoke once more, so loudly that its words became a blurred roar.

 _"DON'T!"_

Steven didn't know whether or not it was a bad idea or a ridiculously bad idea, but he did the first thing that came to his mind.

He leaped forward and snatched the mirror right out of Opal's hands.

* * *

Connie's fingers had come to her lips by this point. In a gasp of air, she asked, "What did they do?"

Steven twiddled his thumbs together. Slowly, he answered, "They followed me."

"What do you mean?"

"I..." Steven scratched at his brown curls. At the same time, he sunk down deeper in his seat. "...kinda-sorta ran like a maniac."

* * *

Steven threw the screen door open and all but leaped down the stairs, four or five at a time. Lion, bless his soul, was still at the bottom of the staircase and barely stirred when Steven practically lunged onto his back. He took off running at the same time that Steven heard the screen door open once more and Opal called his name.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling that was engulfing him, causing his stomach to swim and sweat to roll down his skin. Fear, dread, guilt, confusion, anger...They were all stirring together into a blur. He couldn't understand why the Crystal Gems would insist on practically imprisoning a harmless mirror simply because it could talk. He was upset that they refused to listen to him despite his pleas, yet at the same time, he somewhat regretted acting against their orders like that. No doubt they were just as upset and confused as he was.

With one hand tightly clutching the soft tufts of Lion's mane and the other tightly gripping the mirror, Steven turned over his shoulder with the wind rushing past him. With the constant movement, he could just barely make out the red, blue, and light purple shapes in the silvery night behind him. Lion was fast, but so was Opal, and if she caught them, Ruby and Sapphire would follow.

Steven tapped his heel on Lion's side, and at his command, Lion charged straight into the ocean waves. He quickly leaped over the incoming waves until he made it to the smoother yet still hilly water beyond. Steven looked over his shoulder once more. The Crystal Gems had all paused at the shore, likely shocked at how desperate he was to escape them.

No doubt Opal would soon follow him out into the water. To his luck, Opal was not nearly as fast on water. Her movements had to be quick and precise, and the constant rolling and dipping of the waves would make her fumble. She would have a much harder time catching up to them.

 _"Steven."_

Steven looked down at the mirror as Lion kept charging. He saw not his own reflection, but flickering colors of blue and white, almost like static.

The little clips returned once more, but now, they were distorted and blurred, almost as if the mirror itself was becoming panicked. _"Help—me!"_

It was more fuel to the confused fire inside Steven. _"How?"_

The mirror showed another clip, but it was not something that Steven had seen before. It looked more like a demonstration than a retelling. The mirror showed an image of itself, and as Steven watched, it flipped around so that the gemstone faced the front. The view expanded, and Steven saw that the image version of the mirror was being held by a blue silhouette of what he could only assume was himself. The silhouette grabbed the gemstone from the back of the mirror, tugged, and pulled it free.

As if in punctuation, the mirror cried, _"PLEASE!"_

And even if doubt and fear and dread continued to fog his mind, Steven quickly flipped the mirror over and latched his fingers around the gemstone in the back. He dug his fingernails around it and tugged as hard as he could. As he did, he was unaware that Lion had slowed to a stop. The water around them was rippling, splashing upwards and dipping in an unnatural pattern.

Steven's fingers were beginning to ache from the strain. But finally, with one last pull, the gemstone came loose.

The gemstone in his hand began to glow a bright blue, and Steven felt it moving as if intentionally trying to get away from Steven's hand. Steven let go, and as he and Lion both watched, it moved forward in the air by itself.

It finally came to a stop, and from it, bright light poured out like water. It spread and shaped itself, its form becoming clearer and clearer...

...until someone stood before Steven.

* * *

"Say what now?" blurted Connie.

* * *

The person that stood before Steven was petite in height and slender in body. Her skin was a rich shade of blue, and the hair cut unevenly above her shoulders was the color of a midnight sky. The flowing dress she wore was almost the same color, exposing her midriff and tied at the neck by ribbons. Her chest and skirt formed the shape of a dark blue diamond.

Her feet, like Lion's, met the surface of the water as if it were solid and stable. For a moment, she teetered, and Steven started even though he could not move from Lion's back.

She turned to Steven then, and he saw that she had no eyes. Rather, it was like two mirrors were staring back at him, showing him his own face.

"I...you..." Her lips fumbled to form words. Eventually, a small smile, appreciative and almost relieved, appeared there. "Thank you."

Shaking hands and slender fingers rose to place themselves on his cheeks. She spoke again, her voice wavering as if she were mere seconds away from crying. _"Thank you."_

In his haze of confusion, the only words that came to Steven's lips were, "Who are you?"

"I'm Lapis Lazuli," she answered, calmly.

"Oh...uh..." Steven's fingers awkwardly wiggled in Lion's mane. Lapis Lazuli stepped back from him, her fingers pulling away from his face. Eventually, he put on an awkward smile and held out a hand. "Hi. I'm—"

"Steven. I know." She smiled warmly for just a second, but then it dropped into a frown. Her mirrors of eyes went down to the water below them. "But...you're a Crystal Gem..."

Steven kept smiling, but tipped his head to the side. "Yeah...?"

"And you...talked to me. You set me free."

His head tipped further. "Yeeeaaah...?"

"But that doesn't…if you're…"

No further questions were asked, because suddenly, a powerful geyser of water shot up beside them. Steven and Lapis Lazuli both yelped and Lion jumped back from the fierce spray. Steven shut his eyes instinctively, and felt the saltwater soak into his clothes and drip over his skin. He wiped his eyes of it before opening them.

Opal was still charging after him, but now she looked far angrier, fiercer, more determined to reach him. Her eyes were narrowed and her lip was pulled into a deep frown. She had her bow summoned into her hands, and was already pulling the bowstring back to fire another arrow at them. Or rather, Lapis Lazuli.

"STEVEN!" Opal raised her bow once more, but never slowed down. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Before Steven could move out of the way, or ask her why she was so angry at Lapis Lazuli, or ask Lapis Lazuli why Opal was so angry with her, he watched as the water around him rippled and surged. It began to bubble and rise until it formed a shaky tower that quickly turned into a hand curled into a clenched fist.

It came swinging down at Opal, who was so surprised that she just hardly managed to leap out of the way. However, in doing so, she lost her balance, and went down into the water with a splash. The hand simply joined with the water around it.

Steven turned back to Lapis Lazuli. She had one hand raised and curled into a fist, and her locks of dark hair were moving ever-so-slightly. Her mirror-eyes were narrowed at Opal venomously.

 _"You imprisoned me."_

Opal's head resurfaced, her white hair heavy with water, but she just hardly had enough time to spit out the water in her mouth before she was suddenly grabbed in the hold of another hand of water. She squirmed and kicked, but gasped in pain when the water tightened its hold.

Lion growled at Lapis, but rather than creep closer, he stepped away with his shoulders hunched. Steven finally found enough of his voice to sputter, "Lapis! _Stop it!_ "

 _"You knew I was in there, and you just wanted to lock me away."_

There was a peculiar sound, like soft scratching and tinkling glass, and Lapis turned her head to see what it was. Sapphire was sliding across the water, her knuckledusters in hand, as frosted ice formed a trail over the waves at her feet. Ruby was following along the trail. Her hot gaze pinned was on Lapis and her gauntlets were at the ready.

However, they did not get far. Lapis swung her other arm to the side, and at her command, a powerful gush of water picked up Sapphire and Ruby almost weightlessly and sent them flying. Their yelps were drowned out by the splashing of water.

Lion moved, and Steven clutched at his mane. He had no idea what else to do. Suddenly, Lion leaped forward, and Steven yelped. Lion's teeth flashed as he roared at Lapis with his claws outstretched towards her.

Lapis let Opal drop back down into the water in favor of sending a jet of it at Lion. The spray hit him square in the chest. Steven lost his hold, and he and Lion both went flying. However, something grabbed Steven by his waist. It felt liquid, but also solid, like gelatin. He looked down to see that a rope of water was holding him securely, preventing him from flailing away.

The rope tugged him down at the same time that he and Lapis Lazuli were encased in walls of shooting water. He was tugged down further and further, down to the soft sand and damp coral. With one hand raised to keep the water apart from them, Lapis Lazuli outstretched her other hand. A tunnel appeared in the water, just big enough for someone to walk through. The only light came from the moon shining blue through the water.

"Lapis," Steven cried once the rope around him fell away into a puddle. His face was almost drowned out in the sound of splashing and gurgling. "What are you doing?!"

Lapis just pointed down the tunnel. "Come with me, Steven. Let's go home."

Steven almost wanted to cry with how frustrated and confused he was. _"Home?"_

Up above them, Steven could hear his name being called, voices of fury and worry reaching over the light gurgling of the waves.

"Lapis, I...I can't! Please!"

For just a moment, Lapis's face fell. She seemed disappointed and almost...hurt.

But then her stony expression returned to her face. "Then stay here. With _them._ "

Water began to spill into their little dry area. Steven felt his stomach clench - was Lapis actually going to let him drown? However, the water around his feet stabilized and began to lift him up like a platform. Higher and higher, until her head went under, until he was rising well above the surface.

The platform kept moving, but now it moved sideways, in the direction of the pier not too far away. With gentle care, he was placed safe and secure onto the wooden boards. The water dripped through the cracks and puddled at his feet. The ocean went calm.

* * *

 _"Whoa,"_ gasped Connie. Her fingers were twisted in the blanket.

Steven sighed. He had the blanket pulled up to his chin and he had reduced back into the form of a deflated balloon. "That's not even the worst part."

"It's _not_?"

Steven shook his head.

Connie gave a shaky groan of worry.

* * *

For a good couple of minutes, Steven could only stare out at the moonlit ocean. Everything was silent par for the splashing of the waves against the legs of the pier. Eventually, he could hear rhythmic splashing, coming closer and closer. He looked out and saw that Opal was stroking through her water, in Steven's direction. Ruby sat on her swaying shoulders while Sapphire sat on the small of her back.

Once they came to the pier, Sapphire and Ruby both climbed their way to the top. Opal pulled herself up after them.

Ruby all but tackled Steven, shouting, _"Did she hurt you? Are you okay?"_

"I'm fine," Steven insisted. Sapphire kept flipping his arm over, looking for bruises or scratches. "I'm fine, really." He looked around them, searching for familiar pink fur. "Where's Lion?"

He was answered a moment later when he saw that he was running across the water towards them. He leaped up and onto the dock, skidding a few inches. He shook himself like a dog. The Crystal Gems were splattered with droplets.

Steven looked out to the ocean once more. Lapis Lazuli was nowhere to be seen. "What...why...?"

"Steven."

Steven turned his eyes away from the ocean to look up at Opal. She was frowning down at him with her brows furrowed over her eyes. Her full lips were pulled into a deep frown. She didn't look particularly furious, but Steven could tell that she was anything but happy.

* * *

Connie's toes were wiggling with anxiety. She grit her teeth and tightened her grip on the blanket.

"What did she do?" she asked in a whisper.

Steven buried his face into the blanket and whined, "I don't even want to remember..."

"Was it bad?"

"It was _bad_."

* * *

"You went against our orders," she told him. "You released the Gem inside the mirror despite knowing fully well that that is the exact _opposite_ of what we wanted to do. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Each word twisted Steven's gut more. He could feel guilt swimming in his belly, almost making him physically ill. He could feel Ruby and Sapphire staring him down, but whether it was out of anger or out of curiosity, he couldn't tell.

"I...I just thought...I thought I knew her..."

Opal took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Steven..."

* * *

Connie inhaled anxiously. Her teeth nibbled on her fingernails.

* * *

 _"...I'm very disappointed in you."_

* * *

Connie kept nibbling on her nails until she realized that Steven had stopped. He was once again curled in on himself with his arms hugging his legs to his chest. He made no move to continue the tale. The clock in the kitchen ticked in the silence.

"Was that all?"

Steven raised his head from his knees to look up at her. Tears were already brimming in his big brown eyes once more. "Connie, part of me _died_."

She could only blink at him. She had no words.

Eventually, he smothered his face into his knees again. With his voice muffled and soft, he murmured, "But yeah, now I'm grounded and I have to stay in the house."

"I'm sorry, Steven." Connie reached out a hand and gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder. He just sighed once more and hugged himself tighter. She hesitated, but eventually asked, "So...what happened to Lapis Lazuli?"

Steven paused. When he looked up again, he no longer looked guilt-stricken or crestfallen. Instead, he looked thoughtful, perhaps a bit confused. His thick brows were furrowed.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since."

Connie hummed. With her best reassuring smile, she told him, "Well, at least she's not causing any more trouble, right?"

No sooner had she said this did they hear a knock at the door. The two of them leaned forward and were surprised to see Greg on the deck outside of the screen door.

Once he saw that they had noticed them, he opened the door with a slight creak. He looked a touch bit worried.

"Hey, you two," he greeted them as he walked closer. Steven let his legs fall into a sitting position as his father approached. "How you holding up, buddy?"

"Fine, I guess..." Steven tipped his head. "What are you doing here?"

The frown on Greg's face deepened just a bit. "Have you guys not seen the ocean today?"

Connie and Steven looked to one another. Obliviousness was written clearly across their features.

Greg hummed. A moment later, he pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Well, come on. I know you're supposed to be on house arrest, but you should see this."

He walked out of the door once more before either of them could reply.

Steven kicked off the blanket and hopped to his feet. Connie pulled on her shoes (she had removed them for the story) and followed him through the Room and out of the screen door.


	19. The Ocean

Steven and Connie immediately looked to the ocean once they were out on the deck.

They could instantly tell that something was wrong. There were no waves, no crests or splashes, no water creeping up the sand before receding away. The ocean was as still as a great puddle. Connie had noticed earlier that morning, but was so focused on finding Steven that she hadn't thought too much about it. The water was also not at its normal point. That is to say, it looked like it had retreated a good bit, because there was perhaps a mile's worth of dry sand that was usually underneath saltwater.

They kept following Greg down the steps of the deck. While passing, Steven waved Lion after them. The giant feline didn't seem too happy with being awoken from his nap, but all he gave was a warbled mewl before standing to his paws.

They walked down the beach, past the foot of the cliff, to the area of sand that had appeared underneath the Boardwalk. The residents of Beach City had definitely taken notice of the oddity. The Cool Kids, all dressed in shorts and swimsuits, were looking out over the receded water curiously. Nanafua was fretting over the fish, while Ronaldo had his predictions that he was recording on his phone.

"This only confirms my suspicions," he was saying, "that the hidden people on the moon are angry and wish to destroy us Earthians! First our water… _then our satellites!_ "

As they kept walking, Connie looked up at Greg and asked, "What's going on?"

"No one knows," he sighed. He pointed out over the horizon. "The water just started going away crazy-fast. See?"

Even as they watched, the water continued to quickly move back, inch by inch, as if being pulled away.

"Now what am I supposed to do for summer break?" scoffed Lars. He and Sadie were also on the scene, seated on the edge of the Boardwalk. "Sand-swim?"

Kofi Pizza tutted as he looked around them. "Where's that no-good mayor at?"

As if on cue, there was an approaching _"Ma-yor Dew-ey! May-or Dew-ey!"_ Everyone turned to see the telltale Deweymobile coming rolling down the street towards them. It parked near the edge of the Boardwalk, and out stepped Mayor Dewey himself, in the same pressed but somewhat sweat-stained suit with his once-combed hair now disheveled. When he stepped out, he nodded and waved as if at a rally of sorts and not at the scene of a phenomenon.

"People of Beach City!" He lacked his usual megaphone, but talked as if he didn't. "Do not panic! I have been notified of the ocean's unusual behavior and have hired a professional to investigate!"

From the passenger's side of the Deweymobile stepped out a woman that no one recognized. She was tall and plump, with curls of red hair and rich brown skin. She also had a pair of sunglasses over her eyes and several piercings in her left ear. She was wearing a blue button-up shirt and khakis, and on the left breast of the shirt was a symbol of a splashing dolphin tail.

She walked past Mayor Dewey and hopped off of the Boardwalk to her feet. Once she made it to the faint shadow of the shoreline, she took out a roll of measuring tape from her pocket and dug it there. She walked backwards, dragging the tape with her, until she came to the water. She followed it for a moment, and then checked the measure. Everyone watched her.

She hummed, nodded, and let the tape whip back into the roll. She tucked it back into her pocket and turned to the expectant citizens.

"The water is goin' away."

Mayor Dewey smiled and held his arms up triumphantly. "We have a perfect understanding of the situation!"

This was followed by silence from the other citizens, until Nanafua threw her arms into the air and cheered, "We're saved!"

Steven frowned and looked up at his father. "Where are the Crystal Gems?"

"We're right here!"

The citizens once more looked to the Boardwalk. First appeared Ruby, rounding around the Deweymobile and running off the edge of the Boardwalk, where she easily landed on her feet in the sand. Sapphire floated her way down to the sand beside Ruby. There was a gasp of surprise and impressment when Opal's shape came springing up from behind the Deweymobile, spinning and landing right between Ruby and Sapphire.

Ruby turned back to the awaiting people and cupped a hand around her mouth. "Everything is going to be okay! We're going to take care of this!"

Someone replied, "How?"

"We don't know! We just are."

Steven walked forward and away from Greg and Connie. He approached the Crystal Gems from behind, so they did not see him until he tugged on the drape of Opal's top.

When she looked down to him, looking both surprised and expectant, he asked, "It's Lapis Lazuli, isn't it?"

The corner of Opal's mouth creased into her cheek. She crossed one pair of arms over her chest and put the other on her hips. Gently, with her voice full of more comfort than scolding, she told him, "Yes, probably."

She turned her head to the ocean behind her. In the time between Steven showing up and that moment, it had already drawn back another half-mile and was still moving.

"I don't know what she's got planned, but it can't be good." She looked down to the smaller Gem at her right. "Sapphire?"

Sapphire paused, and then shook her head. "No idea, but not good."

Steven curled his fingers into fists and looked up at Opal. His gaze had turned fierce, determined. "When are we leaving?"

Ruby sighed through her nose. She stepped forward, speaking, "Steven—"

"No!" Steven set his back straight as he looked at the three of them in turn. "I'm the one that caused this, and I'm going to help! Nothing you say is going to change my m—"

"Steven, Steven." Ruby waved her hands at him to calm down. "Take it easy. I was just going to say that we need a boat."

Steven blinked, and then let his body relax once more. "Oh."

Opal winked at him with a smile. "You're not grounded anymore."

She turned on her toe to the citizens of Beach City. She cupped two of her hands around her mouth and called, "Does anybody know where we can get a boat?!"

She was met with a sort of "meh" sound. For a second, everyone craned their heads, trying to figure out who had spoken. Then Yellowtail stepped forward. His jaw was set underneath his beard and his walk through the sand was heavy, like a soldier going off to war. All eyes were on him.

He walked up to Opal, looked up at her (she was perhaps twice his height), and silently pointed a finger out to the horizon. The Crystal Gems followed his gesture and narrowed their eyes to see what he meant. His boat was out on the deeper water, still afloat and bobbing, unlike some other boats that had been stranded in the sand. In the sand, pointed in the direction of the boat, was a small rubber raft left by the water. Yellowtail must have used it to get off of the boat when he realized that something was wrong.

Opal nodded in satisfaction and gave the fisherman a grateful pat on his head. "Thank you, Yellow."

Yellowtail simply nodded and turned in the direction of his approaching son. He scooped Onion into his arms, then over his shoulders.

At the same time, Opal turned back to the others.

"If we're going, we're going _now_ ," she instructed them.

Steven nodded and stepped forward, but paused when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to Connie, who had her eyebrows furrowed atop her glasses.

"I'm coming with you," she stated. There was no room for question.

Steven shrugged. "Okay."

The determined expression on Connie's face turned into a surprised one. "Is that all you're—? I—Okay."

They both felt a hand on their heads, and turned up to Greg. He had a reassuring smile across his lips, but he also looked fairly nervous. Sweat was already shining on his forehead.

"You guys are going to need a chauffeur," he told them. In a prouder voice, he declared, "I once spent three days straight driving a fishing boat."

Steven frowned. "Why?"

Greg's smile fell. His wide eyes stared at nothing. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Guys!"

Ruby, Sapphire, and Opal were already taking off for the raft with great speed. Ruby waved her arm at them and kept moving. "Let's go!"

Steven and Connie moved forward, but they both yelped when something furry but sturdy dipped between their legs and lifted them into the air. They scrambled to latch onto something before they fell. Lion simply straightened himself on his paws.

"Nice to have you on the team, Lion," Steven chirped. He pointed out to the boat. "Let's go!"

Lion charged at his command, across the sand and to the water, past the raft. Greg was left to hustle after the Crystal Gems, huffing and puffing and calling, "Wait for me! We don't all have magic transportation, you know!"

* * *

It had been an hour since their journey into the ocean. The ship faced the water ahead, where it looked like the ocean simply stretched on forever. Behind them, the water receded, but they didn't have to worry about being caught stranded in the sand. They were a safe distance away.

With Greg in control of the boat, the others were left to wait until they arrived at their destination, whatever it was. Opal stood on the topmost part of the ship, looking over the ocean ahead. Ruby was at the front most part, her boredom becoming more and more evident over time, and then turning to aggravation when a seagull refused to leave her alone. Sapphire kept to the back. She seemed content to watch the water bubble and froth behind the propellers of the boat. Lion was near her, sleeping on the duck under the sunlight.

That left Steven and Connie to themselves. They had ventured down to the inside of the boat to see if they could find anything useful—not that they meant to steal from Yellowtail, but they wanted to be safe. They found some sunscreen and life jackets, which they had distributed to everyone else. Other than those items, there were some staple foods like crackers, tuna fish, bread, and peanut butter.

They had also found some fishing poles and a bucket of old chum. To humor themselves, they sat on some buckets near the edge of the boat and held the lines over the side. They knew that they were supposed to be still in the water, i.e. not on a moving boat, but they were desperate to appease their boredom.

"You got anything?" Connie half-asked, half-sighed.

Steven reeled in his line. He huffed when he saw that his chum had once again fallen off the hook, and opened the bucket for more. "Nothin' but nothin'. You?"

Connie reeled in her line as well. The only thing on the hook was chum. "Nope."

Steven sighed as he threw his line back into the water. After it hit the surface, he paused, and then mused, "You'd think we would at least get a boot for comedic effect."

Ruby stepped over to them, brushing feathers away from her hair. She lazily dragged her hand over the side of the boat. "What's new, sailors?"

Connie shrugged. "Nothin' much, Captain."

Steven leaned forward with a grin. "Hey, Ruby?"

Ruby knew what that smile meant. She sighed, and braced her body. "Yes?"

"What's a pirate's favorite letter?"

She paused. "Arr?"

 _"Tis the sea."_

For a second, Ruby did nothing. Then she slowly brought her hands to her face, closing her eyes. "Mmmmmmmmmmmm."

Connie and Steven both giggled.

For a few minutes, the three of them simply sat there. The water splashed and churned beneath the boat, and the fishing lines dragged through the water. The salty wind lapped at their hair and clothes.

Eventually, however, the content smile on Steven's face turned into a flat line. He glanced over at Ruby, who was looking out at the waves with half-lidded eyes.

He opened his mouth, closed it, and then finally said, "Ruby, can I ask you something?"

She didn't take her eyes from the water, but waved a hand at him. "Shoot."

"I thought that you—that _we_ were the only Gems."

Ruby's eyes widened, not so much out of shock as much as thought. Her lips puckered together, then released with a 'pop.'

"Um...well..." Her fingers drummed on the wood of the boat. "There _are_ other Gems, we're just the only... _Crystal_ Gems."

Connie and Steven both tipped their heads. Confusion and curiosity were written across their faces.

Connie was the one to ask, "What do you mean?"

They heard footsteps approaching, and turned away from Ruby to see Sapphire approaching them. It was almost like—well, she _did_ know what they were talking about. She stopped before them. Her light blue locks fluttered around her.

"Steven, this is going to be a bit much to explain, so I need you to pay attention."

Steven paused, but nodded nonetheless.

"We're not from Earth. We did not originate here."

Steven's eyebrows furrowed. "Then...where did you guys come from?"

Ruby stepped forward. Her nervousness had left, but she was still struggling to explain her words. "We're from a really far-away place called 'Homeworld'." She waved a hand to the sky. "It's waaaay out there, beyond these stars. It's where Gems come from. It's where me, Sapphire, Opal, and Rose Quartz came from...and it's where Lapis Lazuli came from."

Steven glanced down at his belly. His T-shirt had ridden up just enough for him to see the pink Gem shining at his navel.

Sapphire continued, "Homeworld..." She paused. "Homeworld was not a good place. It wasn't a place we wanted to stay in, so we came here to Earth."

Ruby nodded. "We've been here for a long time, and it's why we protect Earth."

Steven nodded slowly. It was simple enough, but at the same time, he was trying to grasp it as much as he could. What, exactly, was 'Homeworld'? Was it a planet? A dimension? What about it was bad, and why would they flee from it? How many other Gems were there? He had the feeling that the Crystal Gems would not answer all of these questions now. At least, they would, but they would leave out some parts, as they were doing now. He knew that they kept things from him; things that they wanted to tell him when he was older.

"But...what was so bad about Homeworld?"

Ruby chewed on her lip. "It was really...restrictive, and the Gems there weren't like us." Her fingers curled together. "They were cruel and didn't care about anyone but themselves."

It was Connie that spoke the next question. It wasn't about Lapis Lazuli or Homeworld, however. She turned between Ruby and Sapphire and asked, "So...what's the difference between Gems like you guys and Gems like the monsters you guys fight? Are they, like, part of a monster-subspecies or something?"

It was a fair question, and Steven looked between Ruby and Sapphire to answer it. However, they both had their heads turned upwards, and when Steven looked, he understood why.

At some point in the conversation, Opal had stepped down to the roof above them. She had heard everything that they said, but she did not look at all angry at the information they had given them. Rather, she looked almost casual.

However, she frowned when she realized that they had turned to her to answer the question. She sighed through her nose and stepped down to them. She knelt behind Connie and Steven, who shifted on their buckets to face her.

"Steven, the Gems that we fight..." She paused. She tucked a stray piece of white hair back into her ponytail. "They used to be like us." She raised her hands and wiggled her fingers. "Like this."

The Centipeetle. The Worm monster. The Spider. The Scorpion. The Wasp. All Gems, all had once been able to talk and walk and sing and feel. "What happened to them?"

"They were changed," answered Sapphire. "They forgot who they were, and they became corrupted. We Bubble them to keep them safe until we figure out how to save them."

"This is a lot to take in. We know." Ruby stepped forward to put a hand on Steven's shoulder. "We wanted to tell you later, but..."

"You understand," said Opal, "right?"

All eyes were on him.

He wasn't shocked or furious or sickened by this revelation, it just made him thoughtful. He knew that there was something they were keeping from him, so he had expected _something_ , to be fair. He was trying to piece together everything in his head, bit by bit, until he could come to an understanding. It was all so...much.

"Yeah. I understand."

The Crystal Gems nodded and smiled reassuringly at him. Opal ruffled his brown curls.

The line on his fishing pole began to twitch in the water. Then the pole began to bend downwards, and Connie hurriedly tapped on his arm.

"You've got something! Pull it in!"

The four of them leaned over the side of the boat and Steven hurriedly spun the lever of the fishing pole. They cheered him on, clapping their hands and whooping. He pulled it, remembering his Dad's maneuver of 'Slack and pull!', until the object at the end of the hook finally came into view.

It was a bundle of seaweed shaped like a rubber boot. The five of them tipped their heads with their eyes narrowed and their noses crinkled.

* * *

Another hour passed, and Steven was now sitting on a chest of equipment facing the back of the boat. He couldn't tell how far out they were. He only knew that he could still see the water still receding as they moved. It was moving faster now, but not fast enough for them to worry just yet.

Footsteps came approaching. Connie sent him a smile as she sat down beside him. She was holding two sandwiches and a single bottle of water, slick and cold.

"Hey," she greeted. She held out one of the sandwiches to him. "I made peanut butter sandwiches…with peanut butter and nothing else." She waved the water bottle with her free hand. "The only other drink in the cooler was prune juice."

Steven's nose wrinkled in disdain. "Ew."

"Yeah, so we'll share."

Steven started chewing on his sandwich as she cracked open the water bottle. They fell into silence afterwards, part for the smack of their lips. They took turns sipping at the water.

Eventually, wiped her mouth of spare water drops and asked, "How are you holding up?"

Steven shrugged a shoulder. The peanut butter was sticking to the roof of his mouth, so it took him a moment to reply, "Okay...I guess."

"Are you upset?"

"No, I'm just..." He shrugged again. "Confused." He looked out to the ocean. "It's just weird how much there is that I don't know. I mean, it's like I'm learning something new every day. There are more Gems. They come from space. My Mom's room is crazy, the Gems are thousands of years old, and Mom had healing tears..."

Connie furrowed her brows at that last one. "What?"

He must have forgotten to tell her that. "Mom had the power to heal people with her tears." He pointed at his eyes. "But not me, apparently."

He sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I just hope the Gems aren't keeping too much from me."

Connie nodded and reached for the water bottle. However, just as she started to twist the cap, she paused with a frown. Her eyes shut and her brows furrowed as she lifted a hand to her temple. "Gah...!"

Steven instantly frowned and leaned forward with a hand extended to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just..." She shook her head again. It was a moment before she opened her eyes. "Just a headache...Probably sea sickness."

Steven's worried expression turned into an angry one. He turned to the ocean and shook his fist as he yelled, _"Leave Connie alone, you monster!"_

Connie chuckled and tapped his arm for him to stop. He just shrugged and took another sip of water.

However, the comfortable atmosphere soon changed. A safety flag in a nearby barrel began to flutter much fiercer than before, snapping straight before crumpling once more. Steven could have been wrong, but he felt that the boat, which had been pretty still just before, was now beginning to rock ever-so-slightly. They could hear the waves splashing and slapping against the boat now.

Somewhere at the front of the boat, Greg called, "Um...Opal?"

The worry in his voice made Steven and Connie stand to their feet and round the corner. As they came closer to the front of the boat, they saw what was wrong. On the horizon, the sky turned from bright blue to a darkening gray. The waves had noticeably picked up, too, creating tall arcs that swelled and crashed in bursts. Steven felt his stomach roil just so. Beside him, Connie nervously fisted her shirt.

At the controls, Opal and Greg were both frowning at the sight. Opal's teeth were grit.

"What do we do?" asked Greg. "There's no point in turning back now, but that looks like a pretty bad storm."

Opal's sharp blue eyes narrowed at what lied ahead. "That's not a storm."

The wind was already picking up more. Steven felt chills crawl over his arm. Beside him, he heard a moan, and turned to see that Connie once again had her eyes shut and a hand to her temple.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I just..."

She paused, and then opened her eyes. She lifted her other hand to her face and pulled off her glasses. She blinked down at them, then at Steven, and then did a small turn on her feet.

"I...can see...?"

Steven blinked at her. "Um...yeah. I can, too."

"No, I mean my glasses." She held them up and waved them. "I can see without my glasses."

Steven felt his eyebrows rise. He had seen Connie try to work without her glasses before, when they were rolling down the hill behind the cliff and they accidentally fell off. Without them, she was as blind as a bat. "What? How?"

"I don't..."

Connie's eyes landed on the water bottle in Steven's hand. She didn't say anything for a long moment, and Steven was just about to ask what was wrong when she suddenly gasped and grabbed him by the shoulders. She pulled him to her so he could look nowhere but her eyes, unguarded by the rose-tinted lens of her glasses.

"Steven! Your spit!"

Steven frowned and opened his mouth questioningly.

"You have _healing spit!_ Like your Mom! But in your...saliva."

Steven raised his fingers to his mouth and pressed them to his tongue. When they came back slippery wet, his eyes narrowed at them. Was that right?

"Here, here." Connie tucked her glasses into her shorts' pocket and raised her forearm. She shut her eyes and gasped as she gave herself a hard pinch until the brown skin turned red. She held her injured arm back out to Steven. "Try it!"

Steven only hesitated a moment before smearing his fingers across the skin. There was a pause, a moment in which nothing occurred, but then the air around Connie's arm was shimmering. The red skin faded away back to normal. Steven could tell by the wonder on Connie's face that the pain had also evaporated.

The two of them looked up at one another. With starry eyes, they both put on ear-to-ear grins and whispered, "Cool! And gross!"

"Hey, kids! Get up here!"

The command came from Greg, and they turned away from one another to obey it. Steven helped Connie up the short steps to the flat area behind the control booth. Greg was fretting over his life jacket, pulling the clips tight and poking at the pads. Sweat had already formed on his brow, despite the cool wind that was lifting at his hair.

"You two go down, okay?" he told them. "We're heading into a pretty bad storm. We'll be okay."

He nodded down to the hatch that went to the area below the deck. Steven obediently lifted it up and swung it open.

However, neither he nor Connie got to set a foot inside.

It was as someone had a string tied to the boat and was tugging it forward like a toy. The boat lurched forward with sudden force and speed. Steven and Connie both yelped as they lost their footing and went tumbling to their rears. Ruby gave a cry as she latched onto the side of the boat, while Sapphire spread her arms out to steady herself. Opal hardly swayed, but her shoulders did tense.

The boat kept moving on its own accord. Steven could tell by two reasons. The first being that he could feel his stomach start to swing and stir with the movement. The second being that Greg was now tugging and spinning the wheel as hard and as much as he could, but it was doing nothing.

Steven and Connie reached for the hatch once more, but were once again caught by surprise with another sudden tug. This time, they were pulled sideways, and tumbled down to the deck. It was a short fall, thankfully, but they still went crashing to the wooden boards below.

As the boat kept moving sideways, the waved picked up. Now the boat itself was started to rise and fall. Connie let out a groan when they went down after a particularly high wave. Steven stumbled, but felt himself leaning against something soft. Lion had finally woken up from his nap and looked as calm as ever.

The sky above had finally grayed entirely, and the first drops of rain came down. Slow at first, then faster, until it was steadily pouring.

Opal hopped down from the top of the steering booth to Greg. She pushed him aside—he was hyperventilating now—used each hand to grab a spoke and pulled the wheel with all of her strength. It did nothing—the boat continued to be pulled along.

She groaned and raised her eyes to glare at the incoming trouble...but instead, her eyes went wide.

Steven looked forward and felt his stomach flip. There was a _very large_ wave approaching them. Probably two miles away, it was already twenty feet high and steadily growing. There was no room for escape.

Opal quickly screamed, _"Everybody up here!"_

They all quickly scrambled and slid up to the control booth. Everyone clustered around Lion—he was anchored to the spot, not budging an inch. The boat was beginning to tilt with the incoming wave, until they were all standing on an incline. Opal pulled everyone together with her arms. Greg gripped Steven and Connie's shirts.

With Steven at her chest, Opal commanded, "Bubble!"

Steven didn't have to be told twice.

The Bubble appeared around them not a second before they broke through the wave.

Everyone shut their eyes and huddled together as the water roared and rushed past them. Everything was dark and loud and there were only a few mere inches of Bubble to protect them. It seemed to go on forever.

In reality, it only lasted a few seconds. The boat burst through the other side of the wave. Steven cracked open his eyes and looked around. The water that had swept through the boat was spilling over the sides and sloshing over the deck.

He let the Bubble drop. Rain was immediately pouring down on them, harder than before, coming in sheets with the fierce wind. They were soaked within seconds. The boat was no longer rocking, but it was still being pulled with incredible force, and Greg, Connie, and Steven kept their hold on Lion.

The Crystal Gems stepped forward to see what was before them.

The boat was at the brink of a gargantuan whirlpool—a great vortex of saltwater spinning towards the great dark hole in the middle, like a tunnel straight into the Earth itself. The whirlpool was dozens upon dozens of miles wide. It was almost as if every drop of water in the ocean was being pulled into it. The wind was howling and the hole in the middle was roaring. The boat was rounding around it and would steadily be pulled to the middle, if it didn't somehow collapse before then.

Ruby could only blink at the sight. "We're going to need a bigger everything."

"Steven!" Sapphire turned around to the three humans still huddled around the giant pink lion. Her pale blue locks were soaked heavy. "All of you get below the deck!"

For the third time, Steven reached for the hatch, only to be intercepted. This time, it came in the form of a great wave of water sweeping over and into the boat.

Steven's vision went dark and his hearing went cloudy as he felt himself being carried away. He had lost his hold on Lion, and was swept back down to the deck. He gurgled and spat out the water in his mouth, coughing and heaving. His tongue was salty and dry, and it was becoming hard to see with the never-ending shower of rain.

He heard Connie call his name. She and Greg were clutching at Lion, but they had their eyes trained on him. Another wave came crashing in, and they both gasped as it swept past them.

Opal gritted her teeth together and turned to the rainfall.

 _"Lapis Lazuli!"_

The wind did not calm, the waves did not stop, nor did the rain cease to fall. However, a voice came from the center of the whirlpool, crystal clear and carrying over the howling wind.

 _"You shouldn't have come here."_

Another wave swept through the boat. Steven just barely managed to grab onto the rail before he was carried off entirely.

 _"You shouldn't have followed me."_

Ruby opened her mouth, but it was filled with water when a surge of it slapped against the boat side closest to her. It evaporated into steam around her, and she cried, _"Knock it off!"_

 _"You. Do not. Control me."_

The water around them began to froth and bubble. Pillars of surging water began to rise and spill into the boat. It was different this time. Now, when the water spilled in, in stayed in, refusing to pour over the sides.

 _"I'm Lapis Lazuli, and I'm not your prisoner anymore!"_

The water began to take form. It molded and shaped together, until Steven saw what Lapis had given them: humanoid figures composed of water, faceless, yet staring down all of them. There were at least seven.

One of them lunged for Ruby. The red Gem yelped as she felt something with the force of a missile strike her in the back and send her down to the deck. Once she was down, it formed around her waist, lifted her into the air, and swung her down once more. She growled and kicked herself to her feet, summoning her gauntlets at the same time. She swung at the water, but it did virtually nothing. The water she struck melted away, only to reform just a moment later. It grabbed her once again.

Sapphire stepped aside to avoid a figure of water diving for her. The water burst on the deck, only to form once more and lunge for her again. She summoned her knuckledusters and tried to swipe at it, but it was faster than her. The water wrapped around her like a boa and began to pull her to the side of the boat. She squirmed and pulled, but it wouldn't let her go.

However, the water fell away when a sudden force blasted it off of her. The same happened to a figure of water poised over Ruby.

Opal pulled back her bowstring once more and fired. Two more figures were blasted away, but they pulled together and reformed into one just a moment later. Opal turned left and right, firing at everything that came her way, while Ruby and Sapphire made their way to her. They were holding them off for now, but they would be outnumbered soon.

Steven, meanwhile, found himself standing between two figures of water that lunged for him at the same time. He slid out of the way just in time, causing them to collide together. Everything was becoming so confusing. Everything was moving and raining and it was hard to see.

He heard a scream, and looked up to the top deck. He felt his stomach clench at the sight.

Connie and Greg were still huddled around Lion, but they were now surrounded by several figures of water, and more were forming already. Greg moved forward to create a cage of protection around Connie. One of the figures wrapped around his leg and pulled. He gripped Lion tightly, and Connie tried her best to keep him anchored with one arm, but it was no use. Every figure came crashing down all at once, sweeping Greg away and down to the back of the boat. They closed around him in a mass of bubbling water. Steven could see his father's form kicking and squirming.

 _"Dad!"_

Lion prodded Connie with his hind leg. She understood and quickly managed to climb onto his back just before he leaped off the deck down to the imprisoned Greg. He roared, and hot pink waves of light shot at the water. It melted away lifelessly.

Connie hopped off of Lion's back to go to Greg's side. He was spurting up water and wheezing. He coughed harshly and did not move. He remained lying on his side, despite Connie's pleas and shaking of his arm.

Steven managed to stand to his feet despite the rocking of the boat and the constant surging of saltwater. No more figures of water came for him, but the water itself was now purposefully trying to keep him down. Every time he took a step forward, a wave would crash down on him, or he would be swept back several feet. The water seemed more intent on keeping him at bay than hurting him.

More water was already forming around Greg and Connie. Lion roared up another wave of light, but the water sliding across the boards of the deck just pooled around his paws and tied them together. He growled and roared as he was tied down by his neck and limbs like a rabid beast.

The water was taking advantage of Lion's absence to pool around Greg and Connie once more. Connie gasped when she looked up. The water had formed an arc above them, pointing straight down.

Steven saw this and pushed all of his strength into his feet. He charged forward, through the incoming waves and surges, keeping on his feet and on his path. The water pulled at his feet, but he broke away from their grasp.

He stepped between the arc of water and Connie and his father. The water did not pause for him now. It rose upwards and came shooting down.

One word had appeared to Steven's mind.

 _Protect._

He felt his stomach burn with sudden warmth, and what almost felt like a pop from his Gem.

But he never felt the crushing force of the water, nor the feeling of the air leaving his lungs. He cracked his eyes open to see what had prevented it.

His shield, bright pink and shining brilliantly, blocked the spray of water. As it continued, it seemed to get weaker, until it collapsed and pooled on the deck. At the same time, the chains of water around Lion melted away, as did the figures of water attacking the Crystal Gems. They paused, confused, but still alert.

Steven wasn't sure how exactly to put it, but he somewhat just commanded his shield to disappear. And it did, spinning away in a few last sparkles that retreated into his dimming Gem.

Steven looked around him. Greg was still on his side, still coughing and wheezing, while Connie still knelt beside him. Lion stood to his legs with a low growl. The Crystal Gems were looking around them for anymore danger. The waves continued to crash and the rain continued to fall.

He huffed through his nose and turned to the side of the boat. The water was surging, arcing, crashing, almost alive and furious.

He managed to pull himself up to the edge of the railing without slipping or falling. His stomach was churning and he was shaking. He didn't want to do this, but he had to.

"Lapis, I'm not ordering you to do anything," he called out to the howling. "But I'm coming to talk to you whether you like it or not!"

He threw himself forward just as everyone screamed his name.

To say that falling into a massive whirlpool of surging water was an unpleasant experience would be putting it ridiculously lightly. The second that Steven hit the water, regret washed through him. He was being thrown around and spun in every direction, and everything was pitch dark. He could only hear the cloudy, warbled sound of water in his ears. All the while, he just squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, chanting in his mind, _Don't breathe, don't breathe, don't breathe..._

It went on for a terribly long time. Fear took a hold of them, and then terror tightened it. He would probably be crying, if he could.

But then everything began to slow down. The spinning and tossing turned into light gliding, like he was being calmly guided through the water rather than pulled. While his limbs and torso remained in the cool water, he felt his neck and face begin to dry, the water evaporating away. He could not hold his breath anymore, and let it out in a gasp. However, he found that he could breathe in, safely and without trouble.

He finally opened his eyes. A bubble had formed around his head, while he remained in the water of the whirlpool. He could only see the grayish-blue void and nothing else. It was surreal, and entirely unpleasant, but definitely and improvement from his situation just before.

 _"Why, Steven?"_

The voice echoed around him without source, and he recognized it.

"Why _are you with them_?"

When he replied, his voice had an odd, distorted effect to his ears. "What are you talking about?"

 _"The Crystal Gems. You shouldn't be with them, Steven. They're selfish and cruel and they don't care about anyone but themselves and this planet."_

Steven's brows furrowed. "I don't understand."

There was a pause.

 _"No. You don't, do you?"_

There was no anger in her voice, just exasperation and perhaps a bit of disappointment.

"Lapis...Can we please talk?"

There was another pause.

The water around him quickened, but not in a threatening manner. It was just guiding him forward quicker, with more purpose. He waited patiently.

Eventually, the water around him fell away. The bubble burst, and he took in a few gulps of fresh air. The water around his body eased him out onto his feet.

He stood in the middle of the whirlpool, standing on the rocky and uneven bottom of the ocean. He was enclosed in spinning walls of surging water, rising miles above him, roaring and gushing loudly. The mist tickled at his face.

Lapis Lazuli stood at the middle of the circular clearing. The wind whipped at her hair and the skirt of her dress. She didn't look furious or even angry, just...guarded. Her eyes were slightly narrowed at him, but her arms were calmly at her sides.

Steven walked forward, and Lapis did not move or flinch. When he stood before her, he looked up at he. His own face looked back at him through her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?"

Lapis paused, her jaw clenching. She turned her head backwards, and Steven did the same. Far up above, he could see a circle of the sky, dark gray and dusted over in sheets of rain.

"I have a plan," she said. "I can use this ocean to take me back to Homeworld. I can leave."

"But I thought..."

He paused.

He didn't know anything. He didn't know what Homeworld was like. He didn't know if it had changed. He didn't know who Lapis Lazuli was or what she had been through. Maybe she deserved to go to her home. Maybe he should let her.

So instead, he asked, "How?"

"I can use this water to launch me up," she said. As she spoke, she raised a slender blue hand up to the sky. "It can take me up into space and then I can f..."

She stopped short, and her hand dropped down as if it had touched something scalding.

"I can…"

The stony expression of her face fell. She looked crestfallen, disappointed, and almost hopeless.

She lowered down to wrap her arms around her knees. The water was beginning to gush more sloppily. Curls of it would shoot out before reforming with the walls, and every now and then, a splash or two would drop around them. Steven wasn't scared by the sight, however.

"I can't do it," Lapis whispered. Her face crumpled. Steven almost felt that she was about to cry. "I can't make it."

He knelt down in front of her. He could not tell because of her reflective eyes, but he had the good feeling that she was looking at him expectantly.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is there something I can do to help?"

She shook her head, her short, deep blue locks swaying. "Nothing. My Gem is cracked. I'm useless."

Steven furrowed his brows and tipped his head to the side. Lapis Lazuli said nothing, but raised a hand from her lap to point at her back. Steven stood to his feet and stepped around her.

The Gem that had been pressed to the back of the mirror was now embedded between Lapis's shoulders. It was still rich blue, still shaped like a teardrop, and still cracked across the surface.

More water gushed into the clearing. A few droplets landed on Steven's head, and as they dripped down his cheeks and off his chin, an idea appeared his head.

"I think I can help," he told Lapis.

She turned to look up at him. She seemed unconvinced, but also a bit curious, and perhaps a bit hopeful. "How?"

"Well, I can't be sure that it'll work, but...Here, just turn around."

Her brows furrowed, but she complied. She turned, and Steven raised his fingers to his mouth. He licked them with his tongue, and then pressed them to Lapis Lazuli's Gem. Lapis squeaked at the feeling.

He pulled his hand back to inspect his work.

At first, there was nothing.

Then, Lapis's Gem began to glow bright blue. Lapis slowly stood to her feet as it did so, gracefully lifting upwards.

From Lapis's Gem came small jets of water. However, unlike the water around them, this water was crystalline, pure, and as clear as liquefied diamonds. They kept to the air on either side of her, formed together almost like a pair of wings.

Suddenly, Lapis's hand snapped out and grabbed Steven's. Before he could ask why, or even speak a syllable, all of the water around them came gushing in in a powerful surge.

Steven gasped as the water shot him and Lapis Lazuli upwards in a massive, pulsing geyser. He kept a grip of Lapis's hand as they were guided up and up and up, and breathed when another bubble appeared around his head.

He looked down and around them. He could see that every drop of the whirlpool was being sucked into the pillar that they were in. He could just hardly spot the boat, and the colorful blobs of the others. Then, he could see the dry horizons of the ocean, then beyond those, and then he could see the clouds that whisked by them.

The clouds vanished into blue, and that blue vanished into white, and then, for as far as Steven could see, there were millions upon millions of twinkling stars in an inky black canvas. The entirety of the Earth was laid out below him. He could see the sun on its cusp and the lights twinkling in the shadows out of its reach.

Finally, they began to slow down, and Steven peeked through the surface of the water. Once he was out, the water went sturdy below his feet to allow him to stand.

Lapis Lazuli smiled down at him. Her eyes were deep blue and twinkling with joy.

"Thank you, Steven," she sighed. The smile on her face fell as she asked, "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

Steven blinked dumbly for a second. He was able to gather his thoughts eventually and replied, "No. I have to stay here."

She paused. She was disappointed—he could tell.

But then a smaller smile returned to her lips. "Goodbye."

Then the wings of water on her back flapped, and she took off.

Steven watched her fly away, leaving a trail of floating droplets behind her. She moved further and further into sparkling space, until he couldn't make her out anymore.

The water underneath him began to waver. Another bubble formed around him, big enough to encase his entire body. He was sucked back down into the pillar of water at the same time that it began to collapse.

Meanwhile, everyone whooped and yelped when the boat, which had been steadily inclining to be sucked into the towering pillar of water before them, was quickly whisked backwards. The pillar was falling back into the ocean, and they were riding on the massive wave that was let out from it. The wind whipped by them, and everyone's stomachs flipped when they went freefalling for a good ten seconds.

Miraculously, the boat hit the water safe and sound, if not absolutely flooded. The gray skies had vanished away, leaving behind blue as far as the eye could see and the high sun shining down to them.

Everyone's footsteps splashed in the collected water of the boat as they dashed over to the sides. The water was still bubbling from its sudden return, but had cleared out. However, there was no half-Gem, half-human boy to be seen.

Ruby quickly snatched a length of sodden rope from the deck and tied it tightly around her middle. She gave the other end to Opal. "I'm going to get him!"

Opal tried to speak, "Ruby—"

"Swan dive!" Ruby's arms spread out on either side of her as she sailed down to the water. Opal sighed as she hit the surface and went bubbling down.

A moment later, something was rising up to the surface, but it wasn't the red Gem. A bubble lifted up from the water, bounced for just a moment, then burst with an audible _pop._

Steven floundered in the water for a moment, splashing and kicking, but steadied himself quickly. He looked around him, trying to grasp what had happened before looking up at the boat. He grinned sheepishly.

He was met with sighs of relief and excited calls of his name. Everyone beamed down at him. Lion just blinked, as always, but even he seemed happy to see him somehow.

He lifted an arm to swim forward, but yelped when something suddenly wrapped around his middle.

 _"It's okay_!" Ruby kept one arm squeezed tightly around his belly and used the other to tug at the rope. She was moving so quickly and aggressively, you'd think they were still caught in the storm. _"I got you! Breathe!"_

Opal pulled them up with the rope until Ruby could swing them back into the boat. The second that Steven's feet hit the deck with a splash, he was enveloped in a hug from Opal and Sapphire. When they pulled back, Ruby ruffled his hair. Everyone was laughing in joy and relief.

Connie ran forward and all but threw herself onto him. He yelped when they almost went toppling into the water, but laughed and squeezed her back a moment later.

"Good job, kid!"

A hand patted him against the back, and Steven looked up to see who it belonged to. His father smiled down at him, standing on his own two feet once more. He looked a touch bit tired and he was drooping some, but other than that, he seemed to be doing well.

"You did it," Greg told him. His voice was rough and hoarse, like he hadn't drunken anything in days.

Ruby stepped forward with her fists rose into the air and a grin split across her face. "Three cheers for Steven!"

Everyone responded with an enthusiastic cheer of "Hip-hip, hooray!" However, they only did so once, because Greg broke down into another coughing fit. Steven and Connie slapped him on the back to help him let it all out.

"Alright, Greg," said Opal. "You go take a rest. We'll take us back home."

Greg nodded, and he let Connie help him up the small set of steps to the hatch. Ruby and Sapphire went to the controls while Opal took her place atop them once more. Lion bent down to Steven and licked his tongue over the back of his head before splashing off to the back. He was probably going to take another nap.

Steven looked back up at the clear sky. Lapis Lazuli was out there, somewhere, flying off to Homeworld all by herself.

He lifted a hand to the sky and waved. "Have a safe trip!"


	20. The Watermelons

"Hey. I'm back."

Steven looked up at Connie as she came back to him with a small bag of chocolate candies in her hand. He smiled warmly and set his magazine down to his lap. She sat down in the seat beside him and tore open the box before pouring some into Steven's open palms.

"Thank you, milady," he chirped in a whisper.

"You're welcome, milord," came her hushed reply.

The two of them were seated in a local medical clinic's waiting room while Greg finished his check-up. The encounter with Lapis Lazuli had taken its toll on him. Everyone had suffered to some extent – being tossed around like rag-dolls by sentient water was not a pleasant experience. Still, they managed to make it out with just a few bruises and perhaps some leftover sentientaquaphobia. However, Greg was struggling to recover. He had taken in some saltwater during the encounter. His throat was raw, his voice raspy, and overall, he was having spells of dizziness and queasiness. It took some work, but Connie and Steven eventually convinced him to at least go for a checkup.

"So," Connie whispered through a mouthful of candies, "How's your magazine?"

"Fine, I guess." Steven gestured down to the cover of the magazine in his lap. "They're all about simple home life. At least I know how to make Christmas ornaments out of muffins now."

Connie hummed quietly as she readjusted her glasses.

Steven paused. "I thought your eyes were healed?"

"Hm? Oh, they are." Connie reached up and removed her glasses from her face. She jabbed her thumbs straight through the frames without stopping. "I just popped out the lenses. Now it's like I'm wearing a mask."

She placed her glasses back on her face eyes and struck a mysterious expression. Shadows appeared around her form. _"The Mysterious Connie, Guardian of the Night."_

As she leaned back in her seat, she asked, "Have you done anything else with your healing powers?"

"Sort of," he whispered back. He held up a few fingers to count off of. "I got a paper cut yesterday, so I licked it, and it went away. Then I spat on a drooping flower on the beach, and it perked up, so I guess it worked. I found a seagull crying on the sand, and I tried to heal it, but it wasn't injured. He was just upset."

"Oh."

"Yeah, we talked it out." He paused thoughtfully. "I hope he's doing okay. Hey, Connie, can I ask you something?"

Connie leaned forward expectantly. "What is it?"

"Why do we have to whisper everything?"

"Because we're in a waiting room," replied Connie. "It's not really a rule, but everyone is supposed to be really quiet for some reason."

On the other side of the waiting room, on another row of seats, a man tapped his wife on the hand and gently whispered, "I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick."

He stood to his feet, but paused as he looked around the room. Everyone had lifted their eyes away from their cellphones, magazines, and toys to silently stare at him. A few beads of sweat collected on the man's brow as he slowly stepped away.

The door beside the counter swung open, and Greg and Dr. Arzt stepped into the waiting room together. Dr. Arzt had a clipboard tucked underneath her arm, while Greg held a prescription slip in his hand. Steven set aside his magazine while he and Connie both stood to their feet.

"So just take that down to the drugstore for your prescription," Dr. Arzt instructed Greg. "And remember to take it easy on your throat. No talking, no screaming, no singing." Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward threateningly close to Greg's face. _"No singing."_ Then she leaned back with a bright smile. "Have a nice day, Mister Universe, and take some time to relax."

Greg walked away with a nod and a smile as she called for the next appointment ("Mister Pizza? _The names in this town, I swear...")._ He waved Connie and Steven forward, and the three of them exited out to the parking lot together.

As they buckled themselves into their seats, Connie turned to Greg. "Are you going to be okay?"

Greg nodded with a smile and a thumbs-up. Then he tapped on his throat with a sheepish smile.

"Right, you're not supposed to talk. Sorry."

Steven leaned forward to look around Connie. "What else are you supposed to do?"

Greg serenely closed his eyes and glided out his hand.

Connie's eyes narrowed in confusion. "You're supposed to go surfing?"

Greg shook his head and repeated the gesture.

"You're supposed to go on a waterslide?"

Greg frowned and shook his head before repeating the gesture for a second time.

"You're supposed to pass something?"

Steven tapped on Connie's shoulder with a small smile. "I think Dad means he's supposed to take it easy." He closed his eyes and mimicked Greg's gliding hand. "Go with the flow..."

Greg nodded approvingly, and all three of them glided out their hands with closed eyes. However, as Greg's eyes opened again, he saw with what felt like a fist punching his heart that he had veered into the other lane of the road. He tugged the wheel over, and Connie and Steven yelped as the car swerved sharply. The passing vehicle honked its horn at Greg angrily.

Greg let out a shaky breath of air as his clammy fingers twitched on the wheel. His forehead was already shiny with sweat.

Steven and Connie glanced at one another worriedly. Steven was the first to lean forward and ask, "Are you sure you're going to be able to go with the flow, Dad?"

Greg nodded and tried to do the gesture again. However, his smile was forced and his hand was shaking as it moved.

They stopped by the drugstore to pick up Greg's prescription, then returned to the small lot of _It's a Wash._ Lion was inside the tunnel of the building, resting in the shade. He didn't even twitch as the van pulled up beside the building.

As the three of them climbed out of the van, Connie asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

Greg shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the car wash.

Steven frowned and shook his head at that. "No, no, no! You're supposed to be taking it easy. Work plus sore throat does not equal easy."

Greg rubbed at the back of his neck thoughtfully. The doctor _did_ say to take it easy, and although he was liable to do so, he still had a business to maintain. He didn't know when a paying customer would come to the car wash.

Catching wind of his father's contemplation, Steven stepped forward to him and stood on his tiptoes to place his hands on his shoulders. Greg bent down to help him out.

"Greg Universe, you just came back from battling in the middle of a whirlpool to help a water-lady get back home. You deserve a break."

Greg couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. He waved his hand at Steven as if to say _"Well, if you say so"_ before turning on his heel and into the tunnel of the car wash. There was a small beep, the droning of turning gears, and a growl of disdain from Lion as he trotted out of the tunnel before it could close him in.

"So," Connie said as he made his way back over to them, "Where are you going for your mini-vacation?"

Greg shrugged his shoulders thoughtlessly and pointed down at the ground.

"You sure you just want to stay here?" asked Steven. "We could go out of town for the day. We could go to a little motel, or a different beach, or if we leave now, we could head over to Empire City!"

Greg smiled, but shook his head and waved his hand in a circle. Steven translated that as "I want to stay around here and not go too far out."

Steven hummed thoughtfully. What nearby place could Greg go that would give him time to lie back and relax in privacy…?

Steven finally snapped his fingers and chirped, "Ding!"

Greg and Connie both furrowed their brows, while Connie was the one to speak. "'Ding'?"

"That was the sound of the light bulb going off over my head." Steven smiled up at Greg brightly as he explained, "We can go to the barn! Nice and private, and away from the worries of everyday life!"

Greg paused, clearly thinking it over. A moment later, he sent Steven a nod and a thumbs-up.

Connie raised a curious brow at Steven. "You guys have a barn?"

Steven shrugged a shoulder. "Dad's aunt and uncle did. It's full of all of their stuff, like their old books and furniture and taxidermied animals."

"Sweet," Connie chirped with a smile. "I hope you guys have fun. I should go ahead and make my way home. _The_ _Blank_ _Tombstone_ television series is coming on in an hour, and I need to see how horribly they butchered everything."

"Alright. Lion!"

Lion sat a few feet away, scratching his ear with his hind leg. He cracked open an eye in response to Steven.

"Be a gentleman and take Connie back to her home, please."

Lion arched his back in a stretch before padding over to the girl. Having done it so many times by this point, she climbed onto his back easily. Once Connie was secure, Lion leaned back and gave a loud roar. Rays of bright light burst from his mouth and formed together into a portal before them.

As Lion leaned back on his legs, Steven quickly spoke up, "Remember to write down everything that needs particular incensed ranting over!"

"I'd never forget!"

Connie sent them a quick wave and a smile before Lion leaped forward, and the two of them disappeared into the portal. It blinked away from existence a moment later, leaving Steven and Greg alone.

"So!" Steven sent a bright smile up at his father, who gave him a warm one in turn. "Let's go ahead and pack up."

Greg sent him a thumbs-up, and the two of them turned for the van once more as Steven sang out, "We're going to the barn!"

* * *

"We came to the barn!"

Greg gave a breathy huff of a laugh as he closed the door of the van shut. All they had to do for their miniature vacation was grab a few travel items from the storage unit and stop by the Temple for Steven to get some of his stuff and inform the Crystal Gems where he would be. Then they had made a beeline for the Universe barn—it was in the hills some twenty minutes outside of Beach City.

As he stepped out of the van, Steven took in a deep breath of fresh air and looked around them. The barn, faded red and cracked with age, sat in the middle of a wide plain lined by a decrepit picket fence and a few scattered trees. There was a rusty water spout at the side of the barn, and an ancient basketball pole standing in the middle of the grass. With the open pink sky and peaceful silence, Steven already felt calmed and almost nostalgic.

"Alright." He rounded the van to the back. Greg was already half-inside and searching through their things. "We can do whatever you want, but it has to be _caaaaalm_ and _easyyyyyy_ and _non-life-endangeriiiiiing._ "

Greg pulled himself back to his feet with a plastic folding chair tucked in either arm. He held them up to Steven with a raised brow.

"You just want to sit back and relax?"

Greg nodded.

"Good! Let's do that carefully."

Greg moved forward, but almost tripped when his flip-flop caught a rock. He managed to catch himself from falling, but that didn't stop Steven from crying, _"Carefully!"_

The two of them set their chairs side-by-side and sat down. They were facing Beach City from their spot on the peak of a small hill. They could see the distant clusters of buildings and the strip of beach running alongside them. The Temple had its back half-turned to them. Beyond that, the sun dipped lower into the water. The sky was growing pinker by the second.

Greg and Steven both let out tranquil sighs in unison. The wind lightly licked at their skin and brushed against their hair. A bird called out somewhere nearby. Steven closed his eyes, reveling in the serenity. He could get used to this.

…

…

…

Steven frowned and opened his eyes halfway. "This is boring."

For a second, he worried that the statement would annoy Greg. However, looking over at his father, he saw that he was nodding in agreement. The two of them leaned forward on their seats with light groans.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Greg pursed his lips in thought. A moment later, he turned on his chair to Steven and held up his hands. He formed a rectangle with his fingers. Steven furrowed his brows and lightly chewed on the inside of his cheek.

"We can…take pictures?"

Greg shook his head with a frown. He held his palms to his face and glanced between them with furrowed brows, as if contemplating.

"We can count our fingers?"

Greg shook his head again. The next gesture he made had Steven tipping his head so far he was practically leaning sideways.

"We can pet a tiny pig?"

Greg gave him a look that clearly stated, _How did you even come to that?_ Steven shrugged his shoulders innocently.

Greg brushed a stray length of hair behind his shoulder. He held one hand with the palm facing upward. The other moved from that hand to different places before returning, as if Greg were passing out something.

Steven snapped his fingers with an understanding gasp. "Oh! You mean we can play a game of cards."

At last, Greg nodded with a soundless chuckle. However, he made no move for the van, instead pausing in thought. Then, he puffed out his cheeks and raised his hands to fan them on either side of his face.

"Oh, oh! A pufferfish!"

Greg nodded. He took a moment to gather his lengthy hair into one hand and twisted it around his forehead so that it concealed his eyes. He pressed his lips into a line and placed his free hand on his hip.

Steven giggled. "Sapphire!"

They continued like this, with Greg offering silent impersonations while Steven guessed what they were. Steven eventually sat on the edge of his seat, and Greg gradually grew more and more active in his movements.

"Someone from Jersey!"

"A hungry orangutan!"

"A dizzy ballerina!"

"A blue guitarist walking across a tightrope while holding a baby in either hand!"

This went on for some thirty minutes, until Greg finally sat back down on his seat. Steven was almost doubled over with laughter, and it took his several attempts before he successfully took in a deep breath and lay back down with a sigh.

However, just a second later, he jumped in surprise when his stomach let out quite an audible growl. He chuckled sheepishly and ran a hand over his belly.

"Guess I haven't fed the Pit Monster in a while," he told Greg. He glowered down at his belly and jabbed a finger down at it. "Silence!"

His stomach let out an even louder growl in defiance.

While Steven recoiled in surprise, Greg stood to his feet. He waved both of his hands down at Steven in a gesture for him to stay where he was. Steven obeyed, simply watching expectantly as Greg quickly jogged back to the van. His legs swung off the edge of the chair lazily.

A few minutes later, Greg was returning to Steven with his arms all-too-casually tucked behind his back. He had his eyes looking up to the sky and his lips were puckered in a silent whistle. He was all but ignoring Steven.

Steven narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion. "What 'choo hidin' there, Greg?"

Greg expectantly raised a brow at him.

Steven's eyes narrowed to slits. _"Whaaaat 'choooo hiiiidin'?"_

Greg rolled his eyes with a sigh. Almost begrudgingly, he held out his arms. He was holding a round green watermelon in either hand.

Steven's eyes lit with stars as he gasped in wonder. He gave Greg an almost comforting as he took one of the melons into his hands. "You did a good, Greg. You did a good."

Greg jogged back to the van to get a cutting knife and two bottles of water for either of them. Soon, he and Steven were both back on their chairs and watching the rest of the sun set. The crickets were starting to chirp and the stars were just beginning to peek out.

Steven spat a seed out into the grass and wiped away the sticky pink juice that dripped down his chin. He took another bite of his watermelon slice, and through it he spoke, "This is really nice, huh? Just the two of us, munchin' on melons, sittin' on seats…"

Greg nodded and lifted a hand to make an 'okay'-ring sign with his fingers.

A few moments passed. Steven spat out a few more seeds into the grass.

"We should do this more often," he mused. Greg nodded in agreement, but he continued, "We don't hang out very often, do we? I visit, but we don't really…you know."

Greg only shrugged.

"Now that I know more about Gems and how things work with them, I may be busier than I was before…But I promise that I'll try my best to hang out with you more often, okay? We got to get our father-son time in—our 'fathon' time."

Greg set his watermelon half down onto his lap. With tossed one hand upwards as if he were throwing something into the air. The other hand moved as if swinging at the object.

Steven nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we should go play tennis sometime!"

Greg held up one of his palms. The other hand 'walked' across it as Greg smiled at Steven expectantly.

"And we can go walking around Beach City sometime."

Greg pointed to himself, then Steven. His hands formed a triangle atop his head. One hand swept a length of brown hair over his shoulder while another seemed to hold something high. Both hands flexed out their fingers like bursts. One hand lifted to his face as if he was putting on a pair of sunglasses.

The smile on Steven's face held still. "…I can't even begin to guess what that meant!"

Greg huffed out a laugh. He lifted up his watermelon half once more and took out a good bite.

Steven spat out a mouthful of seeds before humming thoughtfully. "Sorry that you can't say anything. But it is kind of fun playing charade, isn't it?"

Greg smiled in agreement and nodded.

Steven looked down to the grass beside him. He only just realized that he had yet to open his water bottle. He placed his watermelon down and carelessly wiped his hands on his pants. He picked up his water bottle and cracked off the cap. However, as he looked down at it, he paused. The gears in his head began to turn.

Greg nibbled at the last bits of red on his watermelon piece, until there was nothing left but the green shell of rind. He spat a mouthful of seeds out over his shoulder before turning to his other side to get the other half –

"DAD."

Greg let out a scratchy yelp when his son suddenly belly-flopped onto his lap. As his father took in a recovering breath, Steven fumbled to sit upright. He held up his water bottle so quickly he almost jabbed it straight into Greg's nose.

"Here, drink this!"

Greg took the bottle from him, but did not immediately drink from it. He raised a brow at Steven.

Steven sighed through his nose, but nevertheless quickly explained, "Mom used to have healing tears, and I thought that I would get them, too, but it turns out I have healing spit instead. I fixed Connie's eyes and Lapis Lazuli's Gem."

Greg blinked.

Steven tapped a finger on the bottle. "If you drink this, it'll make you better. It has my backwash in it." He paused. "It's super disgusting, but it'll help, I swear!"

Greg glanced between the bottle in his hand and his son in his lap. Steven was so eager, he was almost bursting from his skin. His brown eyes stared up at Greg, wide and starry.

Greg unscrewed the cap from the bottle and sent one last glance down at Steven before putting it to his lips and tilting his head back. Steven leaned forward.

Once he had taken down a good, long gulp, Greg lowered the bottle and smacked his lips. For several seconds, he and Steven sat in silence, waiting for something to happen…

…But Greg just shrugged. With a deep brown and furrowed brows, his entire body screamed "apologetic".

The balloon of joy that had swelled inside Steven deflated. Scratch that, it burst.

He slumped back from Greg, staring at him with a blend of confusion and disbelief. His lips twitched, trying to form words, but he had no idea what to say. He couldn't ask Greg why he couldn't talk, nor could he ask why it had worked before but not now. The Crystal Gems weren't around to answer him, either.

So eventually, he just dumbly whispered, "It didn't work."

A hand, even though it was sticky and somewhat littered with seeds, reached up to run through his brown curls comfortingly. Greg sent him a calming smile, and even though Steven couldn't bring himself to return it, he appreciated it. He let out a breath of air through pouting lips.

He and Greg spent the rest of the evening in peaceful leisure. They played a few games of cards until they came to a sudden death round of Goldfish. They explored the barn's inventory for a good bit. While in there, they came across a few treasures like aged photo albums, a box of small airplane models, and a telescope. Those items, in turn, led to some time of mocking the people in the photographs, seeing how far the airplanes could fly before crashing, and pointing the telescope to the sky for some stargazing. When it became too dark to see, they built a small fire, and with it roasted some marshmallows for s'mores. Each and every marshmallow that Steven put on his stick caught fire and burned, even if it hadn't come remotely close to the flames.

All the while, the loss of his healing powers kept teasing at his mind. He tried to focus on the present as much as he could, but found that he simply couldn't forget about it no matter how hard he tried.

At long last, Greg called "fire-out", and the two of them headed to the van. Greg nestled himself in the back, as it was his usual bed, while Steven took out his bug-designed sleeping bag and laid himself on the roof. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and the sight of the twinkling silver lights in the sky began to blur.

The thought of his healing powers faded away as he gave into slumber.

* * *

When Steven awoke, the first thing he thought was, _Where am I?_ Why was he looking at the open morning sky instead of the ceiling of his loft?

The second thing that he thought was, _Why am I moving?_ His body was snuggled warmly into his sleeping bag, but he was slowly sliding for some reason.

The third thing that he thought was that he must have been upset when he fell asleep, because although he was usually a still sleeper, he must have wiggled around enough to come to the edge of the van's roof.

He let out a yelp of fear when he finally slipped off the edge. He was completely confined in his sleeping bag, and all he could do was squeeze his eyes shut and await the feeling of his body slamming into the ground.

However, he instead felt himself falling on…something else. He was being held by something through his sleeping bag. For a moment, he only paused, blinking up at the sky while the remnants of panic faded into confusion. When he began to wiggle curiously, whatever held him lowered him down until he was safely placed on the grass.

Steven looked up at his savior.

A pale green watermelon stared down at him, its body shaped like his own, and its grooves of eyes blinking.

He decided to be courteous. "Hi, friend."

The…erm…watermelon-Steven removed his hands from him. They weren't even really hands so much as green mittens. When the watermelon moved back, Steven began to move, finally shifting his arms to peel the sleeping bag away from him. He shimmied out and onto his feet, dusting himself off before finally looking down at the watermelon version of himself.

The watermelon stared back at him.

Steven stared back at the watermelon.

The watermelon stared back at him.

Eventually, Steven just chuckled. "How unusual!"

He stepped forward, circling around the watermelon curiously. The watermelon almost obediently stayed still. He never spoke a syllable, though to be fair, there was not a mouth on him to be seen.

"So…you're a watermelon version of me?" Steven thought aloud with a finger at his chin.

Where did this watermelon-Steven come from? Should he tell Greg? Should he try to contact the Crystal Gems? What should he - ?

He stifled a yawn with his hand. "I'm too tired to be freaked out."

Steven held up a hand. As he hovered it above the watermelon's head, a smile began to lift at his lips. "You're so tiny. You're like a widdle watermewon baby~!"

The watermelon lifted a stubby hand to his face, as if he had not considered that before.

"Do you have a name?"

The watermelon blinked.

"I'm going to take that as a maybe." Steven looked up to the morning sky as he pondered. "How about…Oliver? No, Francisco. No, Fransiver! No, Olivis—You know what?" Steven shook his head with a light chuckle. "I'm getting ahead of myself." He held out his arms as he asked, "How about I just call you 'Baby Melon'?"

Baby Melon paused. His 'eyes' moved down from Steven's face to his outstretched arms. He walked forward and wrapped his short arms around Steven's middle in an embrace. He rested his head on Steven's shoulder as his eyes closed in contentment.

Steven froze still, but his eyes filled with stars of wonder. _"Wow…"_

Eventually, Baby Melon pulled back to look up at Steven almost expectantly.

As he looked down at Baby Melon, Steven realized something that perhaps he should have asked a few minutes prior.

"Are there any more of you?"

Baby Melon blinked once before he held out a stubby hand for Steven. He took it, and followed as Baby Melon guided him forward.

Once they had rounded the van, Baby Melon stopped still. He raised his other arm to point forward.

Steven's jaw dropped.

The land around the barn, which had before only held an expanse of grass, was now blanketed in ropes and clusters of leafy vines. They twisted through the grass and clumped together into bushes. Some ran up the walls of the barn, or entwined with the tires of the van. The barn and the van were now sitting in a sea of green.

Of course, that wasn't the most concerning fact.

That went to the dozens, perhaps around a hundred or so, watermelon-Stevens that were littered amongst the vines and leaves. They were bigger than Baby Melon, richer shades of green, and their heads were shaped like Steven's curls. Some were still attached and remained immobile on the ground. Others were just beginning to rise, and still others were simply standing around as if waiting for something.

After he recovered from his initial shock, Steven raised a hand and began to count as many as he could. When he was done, he let his hand fall back to his side.

"Ninety-four," he whispered. "I have ninety-four fruit sons."

Baby Melon simply hugged him again.

Footsteps padded close to them, and Steven turned back to the van. Greg was rounding it whilst wiping the sleep away from his eyes. When his gaze landed on Baby Melon, he froze in his tracks with his fist still at his face. His eyes slowly trailed up to the scene before them, and he jumped back with a strangled cry.

Hearing him, all of the watermelons turned to them. There was a pause, and then they were all walking straight for them.

Greg backed away, pinballs of sweat already collecting at his neck and forehead, until his back hit the barn. He turned to Steven and pointed out at the watermelons with a shaking hand.

"Okay…" Steven clasped his hands together as he explained, "I'm just going to go out on a limb here and guess that Mom used to have plant powers. Or just watermelon powers…Anyway, I guess these guys came from the watermelon seeds from last night?"

He wasn't sure whether or not Greg was listening. Greg's eyes were trained on the watermelons as they came closer and closer, silently and slowly.

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm sure they're a benevolent people. Here, Baby Melon, can you take care of Dad while I talk to the others?"

Baby Melon removed his hand from Steven's and waddled over to Greg. He looked up at the trembling man silently, and then placed a small hand in his. Greg raised a brow.

Steven stepped forward. The watermelons gathered around him in a semi-circle. Some stragglers were still snapping away from their vines and waddled over to join. They all remained silent, watching Steven expectantly.

"Watermelon Stevens," Steven called out to them, "I am Human Steven, your creator and friend. I understand that you may feel confused and scared and, above all, awed. But do not be afraid! I am a merciful father, and I only have a few rules for you two follow. You do not harm your fellow watermelon brethren. You do not harm me, nor my father. You do not harm any person or thing unless it is to protect someone. But the Golden Rule, the most important of all, is that _no matter what you do,_ you must wash your hands afterwards."

The watermelons blinked back at him. A cricket chirped in the grass, and a bird swooped down to pluck it up.

Steven looked around at them awkwardly. He clapped his hands together. "T-That's it. You can go now." He waved his hands at them. "Scatter."

It took a moment, but the watermelons eventually started to move. Some waddled around, while others just lied back down on the grass. One started rolling back and forth on his belly.

Steven turned back to Greg and Baby Melon. "We're good."

Greg removed his hand from Baby Melon's and wiped at the sweat collected on the back of his neck. A small sigh escaped his lips.

The side of Steven's mouth tugged down in a frown. "I know this isn't what we had planned for our vacation, but I don't think they'll be much of a problem. Right, Baby Melon?"

Baby Melon blinked at him. He waddled forward and once again wrapped his arms around Steven's middle.

Steven chuckled and patted him on the back. "Right." He turned Baby Melon around and lifted him up to Greg. Smiling, Steven asked, "C'mon, Greg, won't you give 'em a chance?"

Staring down at Baby Melon, a little smile crept onto Greg's face. He patted him on his small head, all while Baby Melon just hung still and blinked.

* * *

Deciding that they could wait until mid-afternoon to head back to Beach City, Steven and Greg resumed the activities that they had begun the day before. They ate a few travel boxes of cereal without milk for breakfast (they had some watermelon leftover, but they agreed that that was by no means appropriate). They found some books in the barn that they _attempted_ to read before deciding that they were simply too difficult to comprehend. A trunk of old clothes supplied costumes for them to play a game of Pirates, the No Home Boys, and Oh Geez the Plane is Crashing.

All the while, the watermelons caused little to no interference. Mostly, they just waddled around in confusion, keeping close to the barn. Every now and then, one would walk up to Steven, but would walk away once he shooed them. They also like to learn from Steven, too. If Steven pumped water from the spout, or stacked some boxes atop one another, they'd spend a few minutes doing the same without purpose. Baby Melon spent most of his time around Greg and Steven, sitting nearby and applauding their dramas, but wandered away every now and then.

Steven and Greg eventually found themselves up in the loft, where the old battered sofa and ancient VHS television were. Greg had a few tapes in the back of his van of long-ended television series. The _Packed House_ tapes were a bit too jumbled, and _Lil Butler_ was too addicting for Greg, so they eventually settled on sitting through _Cork and Cindy._

Once the tape ended and static filled the screen, Greg sighed and stretched out his limbs, popping his joints. Steven did the same, but with more laying-upside-down-ness.

Steven looked up at the upside-down Greg. "We sat through the whole first season. Should we start being productive again?"

Greg raised a brow at him.

"Yeah, let's just keep doing this."

Steven rolled to the floorboards and padded over to the television. He ejected the tape and scoured through the box for the second one, but stopped with a hum after a moment.

"Guess it's in the van," he mused. He stood to his feet and gathered the box in his arms. "I'll go get it real quick. You stay lazy, Sailor."

Greg saluted him with an unspoken _"Aye, aye, Captain."_

Steven stepped around the television, but stopped when he saw Baby Melon approaching. Baby Melon stopped before him almost curiously. If he had a mouth, Steven would guess that he was asking, _"What 'cha doing?"_

"Hey, Baby M." Steven nodded down at the box in his arms. "Dad and I were just watching some _Cork and Cindy_ episodes. You can sit next to Dad, if you want. I just need to go get the next tape."

Baby Melon only blinked at him.

"What, are you scared of sitting next to Dad?" Steven leaned a bit closer to whisper, "He doesn't bite very hard, I promise."

Baby Melon remained silent, but stepped closer. Steven glanced down and saw that he had extended his arms out to him.

"Oh…Do _you_ want to go get the tape?"

Baby Melon nodded and stepped just a touch bit closer.

"Okay, Scout, I trust you."

Steven let Baby Melon take the box from him. It was small and held less than a dozen tapes, so even the smaller watermelon didn't have much difficulty holding it.

"It's in the back of the van, inside a cardboard box." Steven picked up a tape from the box and held it out to Baby Melon. "It looks almost exactly like this, but the '1' is a '2'."

Baby Melon nodded in understanding.

"Good. I believe in you, buddy! You can do it."

Baby Melon turned away. He had more bounce in his step, almost like a jig.

Steven walked back over to Greg. While he was busy with Baby Melon, Greg had reached beside the sofa and was digging through another cardboard box. Seeing Steven approach, he grinned and held up a hand to stop him.

Greg wiggled his tongue between his teeth and moved his arms in a serpentine movement.

Steven's brows furrowed curiously. "A snake?"

Greg reached inside the box for a small wooden whistle. Rather than blowing into it, he nibbled on it with his front teeth.

A pondering but amused smile came to Steven's face. "A beaver?"

Greg waved his arms up-and-down beside him.

"And a bird?"

Greg nodded and finally crossed his two index fingers into a plus sign.

As he reached back into the box, Steven guessed, "Add them…? _Whoa!_ "

He gaped at what Greg pulled from the box. It looked like a sort of taxidermy trophy, but the animal in question was peculiar. It had the scaly body of a snake, but dark, feathery wings sprouted from its middle. Its body ended not in a slimming tip, but a flat, furry brown tail. It was reeled back, its fangs ready to strike, while its wings flared.

"Wow…" Steven reached out to tap a finger on its head. "A snabeavird…"

Greg nodded as he turned the animal left and right for them to see.

"That's…" Steven's awed grin fell away into a somewhat distressed frown. "…Kind of terrifying. Wow."

Greg nodded again, this time with a frown of his own.

"Is that real? That can't be real. That's…I mean…Yeah."

Greg placed it back into the box and set it aside.

"Yeah, put it away. It's not meant."

 _THUMP!_

Greg and Steven both jumped. The loud thump was quickly followed by quick clatters of hard objects being scattered about the floor. Steven was already running to see what had happened, while Greg quickly followed.

When Steven came to the ladder, he gasped.

Baby Melon was lying face-down on the wooden floor below. The cardboard box was overturned with the tapes strewn out from the fall. Some of the watermelons outside the barn halted in their tracks and turned.

"Baby Melon!" Steven stepped down the ladder as quickly as he could. "My baby! My son!"

He hopped down to the floor when he was less than halfway down. While Greg continued to make his way down, Steven had all but flashed to Baby Melon's side. His hands hovered around him, afraid to hurt him or bruise him further (both physically and in a fruit sense.)

"Baby, are you okay? Look at me if you're okay."

Baby Melon finally stirred. His head lifted, eyes blinking slowly, almost lazily. He turned, looking up at Steven as if not quite sure what he was seeing. With sluggish, shaking movement, Baby Melon lifted an arm and pressed a hand to the floor. He pushed himself just enough to roll his body around.

It almost felt like someone punched Steven in the gut. Baby Melon's belly had caved in from the fall. The wet red flesh and black seeds inside him were totally exposed. The outline of the hole was jagged and sharp, as if it had been cut and not smashed. Peculiarly enough, the pieces that had been broken apart, both on the floor and inside Baby Melon's belly, were perfect triangles.

Greg winced at the sight. Meanwhile, Steven gently wrapped his arms around Baby Melon, one under his head and the other around his back. He let Steven pull him closer.

"Does it hurt?" Steven asked. He could already feel his eyes and throat burning. "Will you be okay? Why am I asking you questions when I know you can't talk? Can you move?"

Sluggishly, Baby Melon's arms ever-so-weakly wrapped Steven in a hug. Steven took in a shuddering breath and strained his eyes to prevent tears. Greg clapped a hand in front of his mouth at the sight.

Water began to collect in Steven's eyes, and he started to shake, but he knew that if he began to cry, Baby Melon would start to freak out and—

 _Ding!_ went the lightbulb over his head. All fear and anguish was washed away with hope and relief as Steven pulled back from Baby Melon. The watermelon looked up at Steven, looking somewhat confused and perhaps a bit hurt.

"I can heal you!" Steven told him. "Here, stay still."

A tap on his shoulder brought Steven's eyes up to Greg. He pointed down at Baby Melon with an arched brow.

"It'll work," Steven told him. "I tried it on a flower and a seagull before…Don't give me that look, Dad, I have to take care of this!"

Steven bowed his head over Baby Melon's demolished belly. He sucked up a good bit of saliva in his mouth and spat it into the red pulp inside Baby Melon.

Steven pulled back again to see his handiwork.

…

…

…

…Anytime that it decided to show up…

Steven frowned. The wound should have already magically sparkled and fused back together by now.

He again sucked up saliva and spat it straight into Baby Melon. There were no sparkles, no fanfare, no anything.

He didn't expect Greg to know, but he was a living volcano of emotions at the moment, so Steven rounded on Greg and asked, _"Why isn't it working?!"_

Greg jumped. He frowned as he knelt down beside Steven, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He cast a somber look down at Baby Melon.

"But it works on humans! It works on flowers! I-It works on birds!" More tears had come to replace the old ones. _"Why can't it work on fresh produce, dang it?!"_

Greg stayed knelt beside him while he sniffled and wiped at his tears. Baby Melon had already wrapped his arms around one of Steven's, desperate to give him comfort.

Eventually, Steven began to move, and Greg stepped back. Steven gathered Baby Melon into his arms. His jaw was clenched and his eyebrows were furrowed in a look of hard acceptance. Unfortunately, it was ruined by the flushed skin, trembling lip, and snot under his nose.

"I can't help you, Baby," he said lowly and slowly, his voice wavering. "And I'm sorry. Please forgive me. You all!"

The watermelons that had stopped outside the barn had formed into a watching crowd. They all stood alert when Steven turned to them.

"Take your little brother and nurse him as best as you can. You know how to treat him better than I do."

Two watermelons obediently stepped forward and carefully took Baby Melon from Steven. They made their way out of the barn, and the others trailed after them.

Once they were out of sight, Steven sank down to the floor and curled himself into a fetal position. Greg patted him on the side comfortingly.

* * *

The watermelons, unfortunately, were not very skilled in medical affairs. To be fair, they were only a few hours old, and Steven didn't expect them to have PhDs in fruit medicine.

At the very least, they did what they could. Every now and then, they would pour water into Baby Melon's wound to flush out the germs and whatnot. They found some cellophane in the van and wrapped it around Baby Melon for protection.

Steven insisted that he stay in the van amongst the pillows and blankets. He would come visit him every so often, and each time, Baby Melon would stir and try to come to him. Steven only allowed him to hug him before having him lay back down. Steven had no idea what he was going to do for him, and he doubted that bringing him back to Beach City would do any good. He could only make him comfortable.

For now, he and Greg were inside the barn. They would be leaving soon, and Greg wanted to sift through some of the old gears and gizmos to see if he could find anything useful. As he did so, Steven was seated on and strapped into the rusted tractor parked beside the pile. His eyes were on the wheel, turning it lazily.

He wasn't meaning to be a buzzkill, but his thoughts were swimming too much for him to smile very much. What was going on with his healing powers? Why couldn't they heal Baby Melon? What was he going to do with him once it was time to go? Would this affect future missions with the Crystal Gems? Would they be disappointed when he told them? What if one of them cracked their Gem again and he couldn't heal them?

He sighed and leaned his head against the wheel. Greg frowned and sat upright with an armful of nuts and bolts.

At the look Greg gave him, Steven sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine, I guess." He sat up a bit straighter, looking at the gear shifts and buttons on the tractor. "This is too old to move, right? I can move these things?"

Greg nodded. However, as Steven went to lazily pushing the gear shift and flicking at switches, his father's eyes did not leave him.

Steven sighed again. As he spun a dial back and forth, he explained, "I'm just really worried about what I'm going to do. I don't know if my healing powers will come back, or if the Crystal Gems can help. And what about Baby Melon? There aren't any fruit doctors in Beach City." He paused. "At least I think so. Do you think Nanafua could help?"

At Greg's frown, he sighed for a third time. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Greg reached up to pat Steven on the leg. Once Steven turned his head to him, he sent him a thumbs-up.

Steven hummed a dry laugh. "Yeah. I guess everything will be alright in the end."

He leaned his head back down on the wheel. As he did, he spotted another dial beneath it. Lazily, he raised a hand to it and started turning it.

"Besides, Connie knows a lot of her mom's doctor friends. Maybe one of them can h—WHOA!"

With a sputtering roar and a burst of black smoke from the front pipe, the tractor lurched forward with alarming speed. Greg nearly jumped out of his skin. Steven scrambled to grab onto something.

The tractor went rolling out of the barn with no sign of stopping. Some watermelons jumped and rolled from its path. By the time Greg came to the barn's door, the tractor was already a half-mile away.

Steven's fingers flew everywhere. He pushed the gear shift back to its normal position and tried to put the buttons to how they were. He only then remembered, with a feeling of self-loathing, about the ignition switch that had started it to begin with. However, it would not budge no matter how hard he pulled it.

He finally raised his head, leaning away from the puffing clouds of black smoke. If he kept going as fast as he was now, he would be making a beeline straight for the cliff that dropped into the ocean. It was a good distance away from the barn, but it was steadily coming closer.

He grabbed the wheel and turned as far left as it could go. However, the wheels remained straight. The same thing occurred with the right wheel. Steven let out a worried whine.

Behind him, the watermelons had finally begun to move. In almost perfect unison, they all dashed forward, running straight for the tractor. They ran straight past a huffing Greg.

Steven looked down beside him. The tractor was moving fast, but the ground was as grassy as ever, so he wouldn't be too hurt if he simply jumped off.

He reached for the buckle of his belt and pressed on the button. It didn't let go. He pulled harshly on the belt and pressed the button harder, to no avail.

So, yes, the tractor was in just the right condition of shoddiness to kill him.

Delightful.

The cliff was coming closer, and all Steven could do was keep pulling on his belt. His heart was pounding and his breaths were ragged.

Then there was a sound, like a sort of sputtering cough. The tractor slowed down for just a moment, then lurched. The same thing happened again, then again. Relief flooded through Steven's veins. The tractor was running out of gas!

But would it run out before he plummeted off the cliff?

He looked at the tractor, then the cliff, then back to the tractor. He leaned forward against his belt and patted it encouragingly.

"C'mon, Bessie! Let her all out! Please!"

The tractor kept moving.

"I believe in you, I do! _You can do it!_ "

With the drop just a few feet away and the engine still sputtering, Steven gripped the edges of his seat and prepared himself.

The front tires slid off of the earth, and Steven yelped when he went lurching forward.

However, it did not continue after that. Even with the water down below and the front tires spinning uselessly, he stayed put. One last weak puff of smoke came from the pipe before the engine died completely.

Although relieved, Steven looked around him in bafflement. The ignition was still the same, and so was the gear shift and the buttons…He turned to look behind him.

Every one of the watermelons was keeping him secured to the earth. Most of them had grabbed onto the back of the tractor by the pipes and bars. Some had their arms wrapped around other watermelons. As small as they were, they had grips of iron.

Their stubby feet began to move backwards and pull the tractor with them. With one final pull, the front tires slid back as well, and Steven was finally safe.

He let out a very long, very heavy sigh of relief.

"…ven! STEVEN!"

Steven turned to the sound of his name. Greg was running full-speed towards him. Even though he appeared as if he had just taken a shower, he was so sweaty, he kept jogging. He passed the watermelons as they finally stood to their feet.

Greg climbed up to Steven and reached for the belt. He wrapped it around his wrist once and gave it a harsh tug. It tore from the buckle, and Greg pulled Steven out of his seat and into his arms as he stepped back down.

As Steven patted him on the back comfortingly, Greg let out a shuddering sigh. He finally pulled back. His face was slick and flushed red, but so very relieved.

"You know what they're going to write on my tombstone?" he asked Steven. "'Greg Universe—Loving Father, Scared to Death by His Son.'"

Steven gave a shaky laugh. "Sorry, Dad." His smile dropped as he went on to explain, "I couldn't do anything! The ignition was stuck and I couldn't get the belt off, and—!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Greg shushed him. "It was an accident. Don't worry about it. All that matters is that everyone is okay."

"Yeah," Steven agreed as he pulled him in for another hug. "Everyone is okay."

They kept like that, hugging each other in relief, while the watermelons waddled and shuffled behind them. Even though it wasn't quite the vacation that they had expected, and it wasn't a very relaxing one at that, Steven had to say that he had a great d—

Steven's eyes flew open.

"Everyone is okay."

Greg smiled, but it was a bit confused as he looked sideways at his son. "Yep. Okie-dokie-artichoke-ie."

" _You're_ okay." Steven pulled back. A deep frown was etched into his face as he stared at Greg. "You can _talk._ "

Greg blinked at his son once, twice, three times before raising a hand to cough into his fist. He laughed unconvincingly and slowly set Steven down onto his feet.

Steven was doing anything but laughing.

Greg's laugh died into a groan, and a hand came to the back of his neck. He took a deep breath, and it was a moment before he could finally look back down at Steven.

"Okay, so you really did heal me yesterday," he explained. "But I thought you would want to go home sooner if you knew, so I pretended that I was still hurt so we could hang out a little longer, and we could play more charades and Pirates and Oh Geez the Plane is Crashing. You know…" He awkwardly wiggled his fingers. "For funsies."

Thoughts went flying through Steven's head like pachinko balls. Greg was—? And he—? And Baby Melon—? And the seagull—?

Finally, he burst.

" _I don't have healing powers anymore! You messed with my head! I thought I lost them because I couldn't heal you, but I did, and now I can't heal anyone anymore!"_

Greg flinched back with every sentence. Steven was practically shaking, and he kept pointing at Greg accusingly, but his face held nothing but despair. The watermelons behind him watched silently.

" _What if Ruby cracks her Gem again? Or Opal, or Sapphire? What am I going to do then? 'Oh, sorry, guys, I know you're going to die soon, but I can't do anything because Dad wanted some time for FUNSIES!'"_

Greg finally found his voice.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," he almost pleaded to Steven. "I thought it was just a little white lie! I didn't know this would happen! I just wanted us to have fun for a little while longer. We never get to hang out, and—!"

"And you thought that if I knew that I healed you, I would just _instantly_ want to go home? You think that I don't _want_ to hang out with you?"

Greg snapped his jaw shut.

Steven groaned and dug his fingers into his curls.

"I just—You—I can't— _Ugh!"_

He turned on his heel and took off running. Greg called out for him, but he couldn't care less. He was blowing steam from every orifice, and he was shaking like an earthquake. He felt like he was going to combust at any moment.

He didn't know where to go. He could go into the barn, where there were only a few subpar hiding places in there, and he _really_ wanted to be alone.

So he turned for the van, rounding it and hopping into the back. He grabbed the doors, slammed them shut, and pushed down the locks.

He deflated against them with a sigh. He felt so tired and so shaken, and he had so much pressure inside him with nowhere for it to go. He turned, figuring that perhaps he should lie down for a bit to calm down.

As he did, his eyes rested on a green figure already lying against the pillows. Baby Melon blinked back at him curiously. Seeing Steven's shaking form and crestfallen face, Baby Melon shoved the blankets off of him and attempted to move forward. The cellophane around his middle crinkled and squeaked.

"No, Baby Melon, it's okay," he sighed.

Baby Melon did not seem very convinced at all, and he kept moving, so Steven crawled over the blankets and lied down beside him. He felt his muscles relax as his body eased down on the soft pillows. Baby Melon watched him for a moment longer, but eventually fell back down. He reached down for the blanket and pulled it up for Steven to take.

"Thanks." Steven pulled the blanket over his chest.

In the silence of the van and the comfort of the pillows and blankets, he could feel himself calming down already. His breathing was slowing down and his thoughts were starting to clear out. He thought back to everything that had happened yesterday and that day, and as he did, he began to contemplate his actions.

"Hey, Baby," he spoke. Baby Melon immediately turned his head to him. "Have you ever blown up on someone, even if they didn't deserve it?"

Baby Melon blinked at him.

"…I keep forgetting you're, like, five hours old." Steven hummed. He turned his eyes back up to the ceiling of the van. "I don't know. Like, I'm really upset that I lost my healing powers, because I might need them some time in the future. But Dad doesn't know how Gem stuff works. He couldn't have known that he would throw my powers out of whack, right?"

Baby Melon remained silent.

"I do kind of feel guilty that we don't hang out very often. I'm not happy that he lied, but I guess he has reason." He groaned. "There's just been so much going on lately, and I took it out on him." He turned back to Baby Melon. "You understand what I'm saying, right? Nod if you understand."

Baby Melon nodded.

"You are _such_ a good listener."

Baby Melon lifted a hand to his cheek and turned away almost bashfully.

Their comforting silence was shattered with a distant, muffled yelp. Steven and Baby Melon both sat up straight, and Steven immediately crawled for the doors.

He threw them open and hopped outside. There was another yelp, and he rounded the van.

The watermelons in the open field had all swarmed to Greg. They were lunging at him, latching onto his limbs and tugging on his hair. Greg was larger than all of them, but they were clearly overpowering him. He eventually fell, and the watermelons pressed closer.

Steven was already running.

" _No,"_ he called to them. _"Stop it! I said not to hurt him! IT'S A RULE."_

The watermelons ignored him and kept moving in their cluster. Steven kept chasing, and turned when something small and green came into his vision. Baby Melon was jogging alongside him. He was teetering and swaying, but managed to keep up with Steven. Steven knew he didn't have time to force him back into the van, so he didn't try.

Instead, he asked Baby Melon, "Why aren't they listening to me?"

Baby Melon kept moving, but raised a finger in Greg's direction. He pounded one small fist into his other palm, then pointed at Steven.

"Dad didn't hurt me! I was just upset!"

Baby Melon said nothing, but Steven knew what was going on. The watermelons didn't care for the rules—Greg had hurt Steven, and he had to pay.

The watermelons were pushing Greg to the cliff once more. Greg struggled and resisted, all to no avail.

"Let me go!" When his plea fell on no ears, he groaned. "I can't believe I'm going to die by fruiticide."

"Stop!"

Steven and Baby Melon finally came to the crowd of watermelons, but they did not part the way for them. Baby Melon and Steven were forced to elbow their way in.

"I said stop! Come on, guys, haven't we already had a climactic event today?!"

They finally came to the watermelons around Greg. They had him lifted by his limbs, pulling him to the edge of the cliff. Steven grabbed one watermelon and pulled them back, only for another to take their place.

"I said stop! Why aren't you listening to me?!"

Baby Melon ran past to the front of the group. He pressed his hands to the leading watermelons and dug his feet in the earth, but they did not stop. They kept pushing forward, moving Baby Melon with them.

Steven moved faster, pulling away watermelon after watermelon. His attempts were fruitless—no pun intended. They simply kept moving.

Taking a page from Steven's book, Baby Melon grabbed a hold of a watermelon and pulled him back from Greg. Instead of being quickly replaced, the watermelon gave Baby Melon a hard push…

…right off the cliff's edge.

For a moment, time froze as Steven watched Baby Melon fall off the edge and out of sight. Then, time came rushing back, and he dashed forward.

" _Baby Melon!"_

He ran straight to the edge, but as he did, all other watermelons froze as two quickly grabbed him. Greg was dropped down thoughtlessly.

The water below rolled and lapped at the Cliffside. There was nothing small, or green, or alive. Only the sea foam moved.

Steven bit his lip as he pulled himself back. He had been through so much today, he was too exhausted to go through it again. His nose and eyes burned, but he willed the tears down. No more tears for that day.

The sorrow was quickly replaced with fury. He rounded on the watermelons, who all looked at him obliviously. Greg just looked around him anxiously.

"You have broken every rule that I set for you," he told them all. "You weren't protecting me from anything. You hurt one of your brothers, you hurt Dad, and now you've hurt me. And now you've broken the Golden Rule, too, _because your hands are filthy with guilt._ "

All of the watermelons glanced down at their hands.

"Get out of here!" Steven waved his arms at them as he advanced. "I don't want to see any of you anymore! Not until you've figured out how the world works. So go. Go somewhere else, but not here."

The watermelons all glanced at one another. They looked back to the barn, but paused as they did so. Then they turned back around, and after only one more paused, moved forward.

Steven stepped aside as, one-by-one, each watermelon fell forward and off of the cliff's edge. Looking down, he saw that once they hit the water, they bobbed on the surface before splaying out their limbs and floating. The water tugged them away, until finally, it was only Greg and Steven on the top of the cliff, looking out at a sea dotted with green watermelons sailing off somewhere new.

Steven felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up at Greg. Greg sent him a comforting, but guilty smile, then sighed and knelt down.

"Listen, pal," he started. "I really didn't mean to hurt you, I—"

Steven pressed a hand over Greg's mouth.

"It's alright," he told him. "There's a lot of wumbo-mumbo-jumbo going on in my life right now, and I kind of blew up on you. Let's just forget about it, alright?"

Greg sighed, but smiled.

"Alright," he muffled against Steven's hand.

"And we _do_ need to hang out more," Steven added. "And we're going to, for sure. But for now, let's just go home."

He and Greg turned away from the ocean in the direction of the van. As they did, Steven kicked at the rocks on the ground.

"I'm going to miss Baby M," he sighed.

"I know, buddy," said Greg. "I'm sorry."

"This has been a really emotionally exhausting episode we just went through, huh?"

"You're telling me."


	21. The Secret

Steven leaned down to bring the plastic box closer to his eyes. Inside, sitting among soft sand and plastic plants, was the Heaven Beetle that Opal and had just recently retrieved from a mission. It was a small thing, white and yellow with a small green gemstone embedded in its back. It scuttled through the sand aimlessly, albeit not seeming to mind its new surroundings.

Steven held up his bag of potato chips. "Do you think it would like a cheddar cheese?"

Opal shrugged a shoulder. "I don't see why not."

Steven reached into the bag and withdrew a smaller chip. He placed it in front of the Heaven Beetle, which inched closer curiously. Steven wasn't sure how, but it started eating, nibbling away bit-by-bit.

"Can I get some other things that it might like?"

Opal set the box onto the table. The Heaven Beetle had gone back to scuttling about. "Knock yourself out."

Steven hopped off the sofa, leaving the bag behind him, and trotted to the stairs. However, as he did, Opal called out, "But no fashion shows!"

Steven halted in his tracks. He turned to Opal with his face stony and heavy with the horror of the past. _"Never again."_

He resumed running up the stairs to his loft. As he did so, curtains of shimmering light shot up from the Warp Pad. They fell away a moment later to reveal Ruby, holding up the dark Earth Beetle with the other hand on her hip as smoke and steam wafted up from her body.

She stepped down to the floor and walked over to the plastic box to set the Earth Beetle inside. It and the Heaven Beetle circled around one another like old friends.

"So," Opal chirped. "How did it go?"

Ruby shrugged. "It was easy enough. I just had to maneuver through the geyser field without being blown to shards, swim through the lava lake without being eaten by the giant snake—"

From up in his loft, Steven called down, "RHYME!"

"—and get the Earth Beetle from the bottom." Ruby huffed as she flicked away some black lava rock that had become crusted to her elbow. "No biggie."

"Wow," Steven said as he came trotting back down the stairs. His hands were full of numerous playthings for the Beetles, from miniature food to miniature furniture. He scattered them across the tabletop as he added, "That's so cool!"

Ruby shrugged again, but a smirk tugged at her mouth. "I guess."

"Or should I say…" Steven winked at Ruby. "That's so…'hot'? Get it? Because it's the opposite of 'cool'?"

Opal reached into the Gem at her forehead and pulled out a small air horn. She blasted it a few times and whooped as she and Steven high-fived one another.

Ruby turned on her heel. "I'm going to my Room."

"Oh, wait!" Opal lifted the box into her hands and held it out to the smaller Gem. "Can you take this and Bubble it? We need to put them somewhere for safekeeping."

The box was about half her height, but Ruby still managed to take it with one arm. She lifted it onto her shoulder and turned for the Temple Door once more. "Got it."

"Oh, hey!" Steven quickly gathered all of his Beetle items into his hands and hurried after Ruby. "Let me put all the stuff in before you Bubble it!"

Ruby nodded and held up her other, Gem-bearing hand to the door. The familiar red crack ran down the middle and split it apart. Ruby and Steven hopped down into the Burning Room, and Steven could immediately feel the temperature soar.

Ruby craned her neck upwards and hummed thoughtfully. Following her gaze, Steven looked up at the dozens upon dozens of Bubbles suspended in the air above their heads. Gems, some familiar, some not, were stored inside transparent spheres of red, blue, white, and purple. It was still a bit weird for Steven to think that these Gems used to be like them at some point, walking and talking.

She eventually stopped and set the box down. Steven sat down beside it and went to placing everything inside. Pizza saver for a dining table here, empty acorns for hats there…

After a couple of minutes of waiting, Ruby sighed. "Can you do it just a little bit faster, Steve?"

Steven did not raise his eyes away from the work in his hands. "These miniature gummy burgers aren't going to stack themselves."

Ruby tapped her toes and chewed on her cheek as she waited. After a few more minutes, she looked over at him once more. He seemed to be trying to pry something in his hands apart with great effort, judging by his tongue poking through his lips and the sweat collecting on his brow.

"You okay?" asked Ruby.

Steven huffed and held up the object in his hands. It looked like two squares, blue and red, stuck together.

"I'm trying to give them these squares to play with," he explained. "But they're stuck."

"Here, let me see."

Steven handed the blocks over. Ruby grabbed either one and pulled. She was soon frowning. The squares were small, and her fingers were a bit wide, so she couldn't get the grip that she wanted to. She didn't want to try too hard, either, lest she break them.

"They're really fused, aren't they?" she mumbled.

Steven hummed and held out his hand. As Ruby passed it back to him, he mused, "Yeah, it's a tricky business. The only one who knows how to do it is Sapphire."

Ruby looked back down at the squares. "...Let me try again."

Another few minutes were spent of Ruby fruitlessly trying to pry the squares apart. Her arms shook with tension, her jaw ground in frustration. At one point, she placed the squares between her teeth and tried to bite the halves apart.

Steven pursed his lips as he watched. "I can just...get Sapphire...It's no biggie..."

"I can handle—"

"Do you need me?"

They both raised their heads to the top of the Burning Room. From one of the mirror-like holes amongst the red crystalline 'veins' that ran along the walls, Sapphire's face and long, fluffy hair had appeared.

Ruby huffed through her nose. "Eavesdropping, much?"

Sapphire's head pulled away to be replaced by the blue skirts of her dress. She gently descended down to them until she touched the tiled floor.

She held a gloved hand out to Ruby. She rolled her eyes in turn, but nevertheless placed the combined squares into her awaiting palm. She crossed her toned arms over her chest.

Somehow, whether with prior experience or her more slender fingers, Sapphire had the squares apart in just a few mere seconds. She handed them to Steven, who granted her with an enthusiastic "Thanks" before he placed them into the furnished plastic box of the Beetles. He lifted the box up, turning it this way and that to inspect his handiwork.

Sapphire turned her head to Ruby, but said nothing.

After several seconds of silence, Ruby's glower returned and she snapped, "What?"

Sapphire kept staring at her for just another moment before turning away. "Hm."

Ruby's arms dropped from her chest to curl into fists at her sides. She continued to stare Sapphire down, as if daring her to say anything else. Eventually, she wiggled her fingers at Sapphire and gave a mocking "HM~!" before turning on her heel for the Temple Door.

As the Door opened to Steven's Room, Steven held up the box and called, "Uh...Ruby? I thought you were supposed to...Bubble the Beetles..."

Ruby said nothing, but she did slow down a touch. When she stopped in front of the Door with her hands raised on the ledge, heat rippled over her stiff form. She seemed to be contemplating continuing out of her Room or turning back around with some degree of embarrassment.

Sapphire held out her hands for the box.

With surprising speed, Ruby had reappeared, sliding Sapphire out of the way while the seer's arms remained extended. She took the box from Steven and furrowed her brow as she gripped it tight.

With the telltale _woomp,_ a large red Bubble finally appeared around the box, hovering over Ruby's open palms. She let out the breath she had been holding and pressed a hand down onto the Bubble. It vanished in a swirl of red.

Steven looked up above them just in time to see the Bubble appear with the others. It was easily the largest Bubble of them all, and one of the few to hold anything besides a Gem.

Curiously, he looked back down at Ruby and Sapphire and asked, "Can anything be Bubbled?"

Ruby shrugged a shoulder and replied, "Pretty much."

Sapphire paused for just a moment before speaking up to correct her. "It has to be small enough."

Ruby waved her hand, as if to say, " _Well, yeah."_

"So..." Steven reached into his pocket and pulled out the toy inside. It was one of the squishy rubber ones with the huge eyes that bulged when you squeezed it—usually, he gave them to Opal to collect. He held it out to Ruby. "What about this?"

Ruby raised a brow and squeezed the toy between her fingers. The eyes bulged with a soft squeak. She shrugged once again and held it between her hands. Another red Bubble, perhaps as long as Steven's thumb, appeared around it. It vanished, and a little red spot appeared next to the large red Bubble.

Steven hummed. His hands went to the hem of his shirt. "How about my shirt?"

"Steven, like we said, it can be any..." Ruby trailed off. Steven had his pink T-shirt held out for her, but was still wearing one despite it. "...Okay."

Ruby balled up the shirt in her hands, Bubbled it, and sent it to the others.

With her job done, Sapphire turned in the direction of her mirror-puddle. It was still high above, but she could propel herself up the veins until she reached it.

Seeing her go, Steven called after her, "Not up for Bubbling, Sapphire?"

Ruby waved her hand at the retreating Gem dismissively. "Sapphire isn't much of a Bubbler."

She may have meant it as "Sapphire is not very good at Bubbling", or she could have meant it as "Sapphire doesn't _like_ to Bubble." Either way, Sapphire reappeared between them within a second. Ruby, who was looking down at her fingers, jumped in surprise when she saw her.

"I can Bubble fine," Sapphire stated coolly. Her voice was its usual monotone, but Steven could just hardly hear a light lace of annoyance in it.

Steven wished that Ruby would say a simple "okay", or at least turn on her heel and walk away.

However, Ruby was Ruby, and Ruby was quick to start a challenge. She looked Sapphire up and down, then crossed her arms over her chest once more. "Prove it."

Sapphire said nothing.

* * *

Ruby's yelp of surprise sounded off from inside the blue Bubble when it popped into the air. For a moment, she sat inside of it dumbly, her limbs stiff and her dark eyes looking in every direction. Her sight finally landed on Sapphire and Steven down below, and the pieces clicked together in her head.

She growled, and the steam that rolled off of her clouded the Bubble from the inside.

"Seriously?! You took it that far?!"

Sapphire hummed as if to say, _"Yeah...But you started it."_

Steven frowned up at Ruby with concern. She was fairly high above them, mixed in with the other Bubbles. He had no idea how sturdy they were.

"Are you going to be able to make it out?"

Ruby's purple-hued form took in a deep breath. She let it out as she replied, "I can get out. Bubbles tend to be weaker when created by _petty, immature Gems._ "

Sapphire said nothing to that, so Ruby huffed and went to pushing against the Bubble. She strained her arms against the sides, then re-positioned herself to use her legs as well. With every moment, Steven could tell her frustration was rising. She started to growl and sputter, and the Bubble continued to cloud with steam, more and more until all that could be seen of Ruby was her palms appearing and reappearing on the Bubble.

There was a _pop,_ then a yelp as Ruby went falling through the air. On her way down, she landed on a Bubble for just a moment, and Steven saw Sapphire stiffen beside him.

Once Ruby hit the floor, Steven realized why: the Bubble that Ruby touched burst, and the Gem inside went clattering to the floor. Ruby managed to hop to her feet and tried to Bubble it as quickly as possible, but wasn't quite quick enough.

The Gem, round and green—the Centipeetle's Gem—rose into the air. White light spilled forth from it, distorted and hesitating like a television static. Steven could see arms, then legs, but just when curiosity and hope began to build in his chest, the light distorted once again. This time, it spread higher, creating several sharp arms and a mane of hair.

Ruby summoned her gauntlets onto her hands at the same time that Sapphire summoned her knuckledusters. Steven considered trying to summon his shield, but hesitated.

The light from the Centipeetle's Gem stopped once again. It collapsed in on itself, compressing down and down until a...

...tiny Centipeetle stood before them.

All three of them went still. Ruby's gauntlets dropped. Sapphire's lips parted in confusion. Steven's brows furrowed on his head.

The Centipeetle was even smaller than the miniature ones they had encountered back at the Jungle Temple. It was black and green, with a mane of white hair and sharp black jaws that held it single eye. Hot green acid dripped onto the floor as it snarled and hissed at the Crystal Gems. However, rather than doing so out of anger, Steven noted that it sounded more confused than anything.

"Um...okay..." Ruby rolled her shoulders back and held up her gauntlets once more. "I got it. Just give me a second."

She took a step forward, and the Centipeetle scuttled back with a high, short shriek. Acid flew from its jaws and its white hair stood on end.

Steven frowned. Even as Ruby moved forward, the Centipeetle made no move to attack her, instead shrinking away from her in fear. Ruby's movements were careful as she backed the Centipeetle into a corner. She was ready to lunge and strike at any moment.

"It's not doing anything," Steven whispered to Sapphire.

Sapphire said nothing, but she did lean her head just enough to look at the Centipeetle closer.

Ruby poised her legs and aligned her back, her body moving forward—

"Ruby, wait!"

Hands grabbed her arm, tugging her back.

Steven looked down at the Centipeetle. It was pressed to the wall, whimpering and chittering, shaking like a Chihuahua. This wasn't anything like the forty-foot-plus tall beast that had almost eaten them alive.

Ruby kept her eyes trained on the corrupted Gem as she whispered through her teeth, "What?"

"It's not trying to attack you," Steven told her. He nodded down at the Centipeetle. "It's just scared!"

Ruby quickly looked the Centipeetle over. Her gaze flickered from it to Steven as she replied, "It's still dangerous! We have to get rid of it!"

"Come on, Ruby," pleaded Steven. "Look at it."

Ruby gave the Centipeetle a flat gaze. Green acid continued to drip from its jaws as it cowered away from her. Its sharp legs scuttled on the floor as it continued to whimper and hiss.

"…Steven, nothing about that thing is remotely cu— _Agh!"_

Ruby flinched away from the watery-eyed pout that Steven gave her. She sighed, but let her gauntlets disappear back into her Gem. This calmed down the Centipeetle just a touch—its hair began to relax and its legs slowed down from their panicked twitching.

Ruby kept her hands in fists and kept her dark eyes on the Centipeetle as she asked, "What now?"

Steven paused. "Stay here and let me talk to it."

He stepped forward, and Ruby moved to stop him, only to be held back by a hand on her shoulder. She sighed and shrugged Sapphire's hand off, but did not move forward again.

However, she also leaned over to Sapphire to whisper, "Is he onto something?"

Several seconds of dead silence passed before Sapphire replied by simply shrugging her shoulders with a frown.

Steven took a careful step forward to the Centipeetle. He had some experience with animals—given, they were usually bad experiences that ended in Band-Aids, tears, and lectures—and knew that a scared, cornered animal would lash out if it felt too threatened. Even though it was still pressing against the wall, Steven didn't want those sharp jaws clamping around his arm.

"It's okay," he told it gently. "It's okay, we're okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Here." Steven sat down and held his hands out beside him. "Nothing to hurt you, see? I'm harmless. I'm a nice, harmless, squishy friend."

The Centipeetle slowly began to relax its body. Its hisses quieted down to occasional warbled chirps. Steven relaxed with it, moving his legs so he lay on his belly before it.

"Yeeeeah. Just relax. Take it easy." Steven glanced behind him. Ruby and Sapphire were still watching the Centipeetle carefully. He patted the floor. "Come on, guys! Take a rest."

Ruby raised a brow at him. Steven patted the floor a little harder.

Ruby sighed, but nevertheless plopped down on her rear with her arms crossed. She continued to tap her feet anxiously. Sapphire dropped down on her legs, fanning her skirts out.

The Centipeetle finally eased itself down to the floor. The green eye of a Gem now watched Steven as it chirped quietly, as if asking, _"Okay, now what?"_

Steven thought for a moment. He wanted to show the Centipeetle something to prove that he meant no harm, but didn't want to do anything too quick or sudden.

A light-bulb went off over his head, and he reached into his back pocket. The Centipeetle stiffened, as he expected, but paused when he set something before it.

"They're Chaaaaps _,_ " Steven told the Centipeetle. He pushed the small pile of potato chips closer to it. "They're good. Try some."

The Centipeetle stared at the Chaaaaps almost confusedly.

"Here, like this." Steven picked up a small chip and popped it into his mouth. He made sure to smack his lips and crunch extra loudly so the Centipeetle got the point.

It seemed to. It inched forward, jaws snapping above the Chaaaaps before finally taking one into its mouth. Its jaws moved up and down and light drops of drool-like acid went flying. After a pause, the Centipeetle took the rest into its mouth as well, making satisfied chirps as it did so.

"I don't even know how you're doing that, but it sure is adorable."

"Steven."

Steven looked behind him. Ruby was still sitting, but her body was rigid. Sapphire was lying down on her side.

Ruby continued, "I don't mean to break this up, but we can't just _train_ it. We need to go ahead and Bubble it."

Sapphire spoke up, "She's right."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm right."

Sapphire gave a long, heavy sigh.

Steven looked back at the Centipeetle. All wariness was gone from its stance. It looked up at him expectantly now, almost casually.

"We can't just Bubble it now," he told them. He set a hand on the Centipeetle's shock of white hair, and while it stiffened under his touch, it didn't attack. "We've made a connection."

Ruby groaned and hopped up to her feet. As Sapphire did the same, she said, "You can't make connections with corrupted Gems, Steven."

Steven's brows furrowed together. "Why not?"

Ruby cast her eyes to the floor and sighed. Sapphire, meanwhile, stepped forward. Steven felt the Centipeetle twitch under his hand.

"Rose Quartz tried to form bonds with corrupted monsters," she told Steven. "She thought that perhaps it could bring them back to their former selves, but it never worked. I'm sorry Steven, but I don't think this will, either."

Steven looked down at Centipeetle. It had to have some form of self-awareness, right? It could tell what he was saying, could tell when it was being threatened. It could tell that Steven was no longer a threat, so what if Steven ruined that by letting Sapphire or Ruby destroy its physical form and Bubble it?

"Maybe I can't heal its form," he told Sapphire, "But I may be able to heal its mind. With kindness, I mean. Anyone can be healed by—" Steven reached into his other back pocket and tossed up a handful of rose petals he always had on handy. "— _the power of love._ "

Sapphire brushed away a petal that had landed on her skirt. "You can keep it out for now."

The sound of footsteps brought their attention back to Ruby. The red Gem was once again walking in the direction of the Temple Door.

"Fine, do what you want. I'm headed out to—"

The Temple Door appeared before she summoned it, and in stepped Opal.

Sapphire and Ruby both went stiff as stone. Opal stepped down the small drop easily with her bow in her hands. She never gave any mind to the Centipeetle. Steven then realized that the way that they stood, the Centipeetle was tucked behind one of the veins and behind his legs and, thus, out of Opal's sight. It still scuttled closer to the wall and further out of sight, hissing lowly. Steven quietly shushed it.

Opal kept walking down to Ruby and Sapphire. She smiled down at them as casually as ever.

"Hello!" Her smile faltered when she saw Ruby. She was frozen in her walk with one leg still outstretched. "Headed out, Ruby?"

Ruby cleared her throat before putting on a painfully awkward grin. "Y-Yeah! I just thought I'd go out and get some fresh square!"

Opal's brows furrowed. "You mean 'air'?"

Ruby said nothing at first. Then she made a much-too-loud, much-too-awkward "HEE HA HEE!" of a laugh, all with a wide grin on her face.

Opal stared down at her worriedly. Eventually, her gaze turned over to Steven, still standing before the Centipeetle. He wasn't intentionally hiding it, but Opal must not have noticed anyway, because she smiled warmly at him.

"Hey, Steven! What are you still doing here?"

"Well, when I came in here to watch Ruby Bubble the beetles, we started talking about Bubbles and—"

Steven stopped himself short when he glanced behind Opal. Ruby was waving her hands at him almost pleadingly, while Sapphire had one palm raised with the other pressing a finger to her lips. Opal did not notice and continued watching him expectantly.

Steven pressed his legs closer to conceal the Centipeetle more. It hissed quietly.

"And…that's pretty much it. Nothing else happened. At all."

Opal's bright blue eyes glanced between the three of them. Her eyebrows furrowed on her forehead once more. "Are you guys okay? You're talking…not normally."

Sapphire spoke up, "Is there something you wanted to tell us, Opal?"

"Oh!" Opal clapped her free hands together. "Right! Well, I was looking at the waterfalls in my Room and I started thinking…"

Opal continued talking, and Sapphire and Ruby nodded as they listened, occasionally glancing over at Steven and the Centipeetle. Steven wasn't sure whether he should make a run for the Door or not. Opal might turn around at any moment, or hear the flip-flop sounds of his…well, flip-flops.

As Opal spoke, she mindlessly shifted her bow around in her hands. Steven felt something move behind him, and before he knew it, the Centipeetle was crawling towards Opal. Acid was bubbling in its mouth and it moved almost like a predator closing in on its prey. Opal still did not notice, but Ruby and Sapphire did. They were getting stiffer by the second.

"…and _that_ got me thinking about tuna sandwiches, and how fishermen have such a bad rap all the time, you know?"

Sapphire and Ruby nodded at Opal and feigned looks of understanding before looking back at the Centipeetle.

Steven didn't want to risk calling for the Centipeetle—he didn't know why he was hiding it from Opal, but he knew she would hear him. He waved and reached for the Centipeetle to come back to him, but it continued to slink to Opal. It was steadily approaching her feet.

"…cause, like, they go out in raging storms and hot sun just to get people delicious fish, but they're always treated as uneducated sea freaks…"

Steven stepped forward. Opal did not notice, so he kept moving. The Centipeetle finally took notice of him and turned toward him just as its jaws brushed against the drape of Opal's top. Steven knelt down and beckoned it to him. It curiously scuttled towards him a few inches.

"…You guys remember Yellowtail, right? The fisherman that came into Beach City a while ago? Here, I think I have a picture somewhere—"

Opal began to turn, and Steven went stopped still.

However, Ruby moved forward with Opal with her arms outstretched. Sapphire quickly walked up beside her.

Ruby had a grin from ear to ear as she told Opal, "Of course we remember Yellowtail! What about him?"

"Oh. Well, he was so nice and yeah, I know he was a bit odd sometimes, but he was so smart, too…"

Steven beckoned the Centipeetle again. It finally crept forward, slowly at first, but eventually crawled up to him. It continued crawling beside him as he moved back to the corner, and did not hiss or fight back when Steven concealed it with his legs once more.

"They just need a lot more respect. They work hard, just like the rest of us."

Ruby and Sapphire nodded and hummed in agreement. "I totally agree." "Well said."

Opal nodded with a sigh. She ran a hand through her white hair as she said, "I just feel really strongly about this." She turned on her toe. "I'm going to go lie down for a bit."

Ruby and Sapphire glanced at one another. Confused, Ruby called out, "Wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

Opal stopped in her tracks. "Oh!" She turned back around with a light laugh. "My bad! After all of that thinking, I realized that it's been a while since we've visited the Cove. I'm going to head over to check it out."

Opal turned for the Temple Door again, this time waving at Steven as she did. "Bye, Steven! Have fun with your nothing."

When she had left and the Temple Door vanished, Ruby and Sapphire practically deflated, going limp and letting their breaths go. Steven stepped forward and let the Centipeetle out from behind his legs.

Ruby pushed her headband farther up her forehead. "That was close."

"I don't get it," Steven said with a frown. "Why didn't we just tell Opal what happened?"

Ruby paused and pursed her lips. "Um…" She scratched at the dark hair underneath her headband. "W-We just didn't…You know, we don't want Opal to know we were goofing around in here all careless and uh…we just don't want Opal to be angry with us…"

Steven was having trouble remembering the last time that Opal was angry _period,_ let alone at one of them.

"Why would Opal be mad? She's Opal."

Ruby clasped her hands together. "Well. It's not that we don't want her to be angry us, exactly, it's just that Opal's kind of the leader and she's…um…" She twiddled her fingers together as she searched for the right phrase.

After several seconds of Ruby's silence, Sapphire eventually spoke up for her. "She's better than us."

Steven reeled back in shock with a hand over his heart. "Whaaaaaat? Opal's not better than you guys! You're all equally 'bet'."

"Yeah, but she's more… _level_ and _calm_ and..." Ruby trailed off. She eventually waved her hand at Steven with a sigh. "You'll get it when you're older."

Steven deflated. "I'll add that to the list."

Sapphire spoke up, "The Centipeetle."

"Right." Ruby went straight as a needle, held her arms behind her back, and spoke in a stern voice, "Steven."

Steven immediately lifted a hand to his forehead and replied, "Sir, yes, sir!"

"You can have the Centipeetle out and you can do what you want with it. But we are to keep this a secret from Opal. Don't let it slip, don't make it obvious, and cover up any evidence. Got it?"

Steven once again replied with a cry of, "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Good. Everyone follow my lead and we'll get off Scot free, alright?"

Steven opened his mouth to ask a question, but was cut off when Sapphire spoke up first.

"I don't want us to have this issue again."

Ruby raised a brow and asked, "What issue?"

"The issue of you giving out orders and refusing to listen to anyone else."

Ruby chewed on her cheek. In a clipped voice, she replied, "I wasn't."

Steven nodded quickly. "Good—"

"But even if I _did_ —"

Steven sighed.

"—I wouldn't have any reason to listen to you right now, since it's your fault those things are out to begin with."

"You were the one who released the shards from the Bubbles," Sapphire replied. Her voice was as calm as ever, and yet still managed to have a defensive layer to it.

"Which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't Bubbled me." Ruby threw her hands into the air as she added, "Who does that?"

Steven finally spoke up. "Guys!"

Ruby and Sapphire turned to him, still frowning but listening.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. We have to take care of the Centipeetle."

He turned to the Centipeetle. It clicked at him.

"Centipeetle, I am your friend. _We_ are your friends. And we're going to help you get through this. Give me some kind of indication that you understand."

A bit of acid dripped from the Centipeetle's jaw.

"Great! Training starts now!"

* * *

 **OFFICIAL FRIENDSHIP TRAINING** _ **START!**_

* * *

"Okay…There we go."

Steven stepped back from the Centipeetle. The two of them were standing outside of the Temple on the sand of the beach. The Centipeetle was lightly tied to one of the deck posts with rope—not enough to constrict it, but enough to keep it from wandering off. It clicked and chirped bemusedly at Steven.

Steven cleared his throat before speaking.

"Your first friendship training exercise is being able to recognize _enemies_ and _not-enemies._ So let's take a look, shall we?"

Sapphire stepped forward.

"This is Sapphire, a Crystal Gem." Steven twirled a finger. Sapphire span around in a small circle as Steven continued, "She's _good,_ she _won't hurt you,_ and her most noticeable feature is that she is _shaped like a friend._ "

Ruby stepped forward then. She had shapeshifted her body into the image of a sort of dragon-lizard thing, with a stubby tail and a long snout full of sharp teeth. She growled and hissed as she stomped forward. "Rawr! Rawr!"

"This is a Corrupted Gem, like yourself. Unlike you, it has not tasted friendship yet. So until it does, it is an _enemy_."

Steven grabbed the small bag at his feet and reached inside for a salt-and-vinegar Chaaaap. Acidic drool immediately began to flood the Centipeetle's mouth as it gargled hungrily.

"I want you to pick out the _enemy._ If you do it right, then you'll get a Chaaaap. Okay?"

He just assumed the Centipeetle agreed, so he untied the rope.

The Centipeetle inched forward. It looked up at Sapphire, gargling quietly, then turned to Ruby. Steven waited on the sidelines, chewing his lip anxiously. He crossed his fingers.

The Centipeetle turned to Sapphire.

Sapphire said nothing.

The Centipeetle turned to Ruby.

"Rawr."

The Centipeetle turned between them once again, and its jaws slowly began to close…

It spat out a little puddle of acid at Ruby's feet with a soft _"bleh"._

The acid smoked and bubbled on the sand, turning it into clay as everyone watched silently. Ruby's form went into bright light. When she returned to her normal form, she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, _"Rude."_

Steven whooped and set down a Chaaaap in front of the Centipeetle. It gobbled it up instantly and happily.

"Great! Now you won't attack anyone blindly! _Now comes phase two."_

* * *

"Now that you know what friends are, it's time to learn how you treat them. So here's the next exercise."

Steven gestured over to Ruby. She was seated on the checkered picnic blanket with her legs crossed and her elbows on her knees. She had a red apple, a chocolate chip cookie, and a small box of what was originally apple juice but now contained Opal Juice placed before her.

"It's lunchtime, and Ruby has a nice, nutritious meal set in front of her. That's good."

Steven gestured to Sapphire. She was on the other side of the blanket, but she had nothing in front of her.

"But Sapphire doesn't have anything to eat. That makes her really sad." Steven held his hand to his mouth and whispered, _"Sapphire, be sad."_

A single tear ran down Sapphire's face.

Steven pointed down to the cookie, apple, and juice box set down before him and the Centipeetle. "This is your food. Now, what are you going to do?"

The Centipeetle looked between Ruby and Sapphire, then at the food before it. It sniffed at it curiously. A moment later, the food was a rotting lump of bubbling acid.

Steven frowned and shook his head. "Noooo! Sapphire was hungry, so you should have offered her some of your food!"

The Centipeetle looked down at the putrid mess before it. It nudged the glop and clay with its jaws until it rolled over to Sapphire. The Centipeetle looked up at Steven expectantly.

Steven paused. Eventually, he reached into the Chaaaap bag and pulled out a chip, breaking it in half and giving one piece to the Centipeetle. "You get half for effort."

* * *

The Centipeetle showed remarkable improvement over the course of the training day. Not perfect, of course, but it did well. It never attacked any of them, eventually stopped tensing up every time one of them came near it, and eventually learned that spitting up acid wasn't the solution to everything. Ruby and Sapphire were both impressed by the improvement, too.

Ruby and Sapphire eventually got over their little feud, as well. They stopped throwing blame and insults, almost completely forgot about Opal being a problem, and began talking to each other normally again. They agreed with one another, laughed with one another, teased one another. Steven had seen it time and time again, but he was happy to see it nonetheless.

Eventually, come that afternoon, Steven was stumped for more training ideas. Opal had yet to return, but even if she were to come home at any moment, he felt that she would be happy to see how the Centipeetle turned out. Ruby and Sapphire didn't agree. They still followed the Centipeetle with washcloths and broomsticks to clean up any trace of evidence.

So Steven decided to let the Centipeetle tag along with him to Beach City, just long enough to grab some food and head back. The Centipeetle scuttled at his feet, sniffing at food trash and clicking at unfamiliar faces and the occasional seagull.

When they came to Beach City Boardwalk Fries, Steven tapped his hand on the counter bell. Peedee appeared so instantly that Steven jumped back in shock.

"How may I help you?" he asked through a much-too-peppy grin. "Today's special is the cheddar _fries—fries_ that have been _fried_ to perfection and covered in cheddar cheese for the best basket of _fries_ this side of Delmarva. _Fries._ "

Steven paused, putting a finger to his lips. "Yeah…Yeah, that sounds good!"

Peedee perked up at that, and his smile turned into a genuine one. He reached down for his notepad and pen and replied, "Really?"

Steven nodded. "Yup! But can you replace the fries with bits?"

Slowly, harshly, Peedee carved the word "BITS" into his notepad. Black ink stained the paper and his fingers, and when he stiffly turned away from Steven, he was practically growling through his smile, _"Coming right up."_

Once Peedee had left, Steven turned around and leaned his back against the counter. The Centipeetle nudged his leg, and he rustled its white hair, earning him a low hiss. He sat down beside it and pulled its head into his lap. It didn't lash out or try to wriggle free, but its many legs did twitch.

As he ran his fingers through its course white hair, Steven said, "You know, Centi, I wish Ruby and Sapphire could get along like this all the time. I mean, they're not _always_ attacking each other, but when they do, it goes on for a long time and eventually, I kind of forget what they were fighting about to begin with. They're doing good today, though. Maybe things can stay like his, huh? I mean, we'd have to hide you away from Opal forever and ever, but I think we could manage! What do you think?"

He looked down at it for its response, only to see that its jaws were shut close and lightly leaking acid as the Centipeetle breathed slowly and softly. Steven had to bite his lip to keep himself from cooing in delight.

"Steven?"

Steven carefully gathered the Centipeetle into his arms and stood back up. It gargled sleepily.

Peedee raised an eyebrow at the sight of the sleeping...Gem-bug-thing, but he said nothing other than "Cheddar bits. That'll be two-fifty, please" as he placed the basket of cheese-gooey fry bits onto the counter.

Steven leaned forward and nodded down to the bills in his hand, still tucked underneath the Centipeetle. Peedee reached over and took them carefully.

When he began to move, Steven spoke up, "You can keep the change. And...uh..." He tried to move one arm, then the other, but each movement caused the Centipeetle to stir and hiss. Eventually, he just stopped and asked, "Could you just put the basket on top?"

Peedee set the basket on top of the Centipeetle's back. In its sleep, it seemed to appreciate the heat, because its head sunk lower into the bend of Steven's elbow with a purr.

Steven turned away and whispered over his shoulder, "Thanks, Peedee!"

Peedee flicked his hand in a wave after him. He stepped away then with a sigh, moving to return to cleaning up the miniature restaurant, but nearly jumped out of his skin when his older brother slammed the door open and ran outside, screaming, "STEVEN! WAIT! LET ME GET A PICTURE OF YOUR WEIRD DOG!"

* * *

Steven—after having a miniature photoshoot with Ronaldo—returned back to the Temple with the Centipeetle still asleep in his arms. He carefully ascended the stairs, and was just wondering how he was going to open the door when he saw it leaning against the railing. It was torn clean off the hinges, and as Steven continued to climb the steps, he heard muffled yelling. It was definitely Ruby's voice, but he couldn't tell what she was saying.

His brows furrowed. Had Opal already come back, and she really _was_ angry about what had happened?

When he came to the door, he saw what was going on.

Ruby was stomping through the living room, her body as hot as a furnace, her boots leaving charred black prints in the wood of the floor. Her footfalls were so heavy that pictures on the walls were askew and items had toppled off their shelves to the floor. She was rambling at the top of her voice as her arms flipped and swung around her.

She was still yelling, and when Steven came in, he only managed to catch the last (or perhaps the middle?) of, "...I MEAN I GET THAT I FREAK OUT SOMETIMES I MEAN I'M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET TO...!"

Sapphire, meanwhile, was seated at one of the stools at the island. As she usually was, she had her hands in her laps and her lips in a neutral line, prim and proper and calm as ever. Steven's eyes went lower, and he saw that the stool was frozen into a shape of ice. More frost was spreading across the floorboards and across the top of the island.

The yelling and stomping was causing the Centipeetle to stir and gurgle. Steven held it closer as he called out, "Ruby!"

"I'M REALLY GETTING TIRED OF YOU ACTING LIKE YOU'RE SO ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE EVEN WHEN YOU-!"

"RUBY!"

Ruby spun to him with smoke rising from her lips. _"WHAT?!"_

Unfortunately for them, the moment that Ruby turned around and yelled so loudly was the exact moment that the Centipeetle's jaws finally opened. At the sudden burst of sound and the sight of a furious Ruby, the Centipeetle jumped up with a shriek. Steven yelped as drops of acid went into the air and cheesy fry bits scattered across the charred floor. Ruby's tirade came to a stop as she jumped back to avoid the jets of hot acid that came bursting from the Centipeetle's mouth. Sapphire quickly hopped off of her stool just as a jet melted it down.

Ruby stepped forward, then immediately stepped back when the Centipeetle warningly spat at her. Steven held his arms up and flinched when the Centipeetle turned to him. Acid dripped and oozed through its jaws as it shook and gargled, but Steven was not hit by any acid.

"It's okay," he cooed to it. "It's okay."

The Centipeetle just barely relaxed. It continued to shake and growl.

Ruby groaned as she turned around the room. The stool was melted into a pile of goo, a sizzling slash had been put into the wall, and the floor was covered in acid-lined potholes. "The floor! The wall! Look at this mess!"

Sapphire gestured her head to the tilted pictures, scattered items, and black footprints. "It already _was_ a mess."

The effect was instant. Ruby turned to Sapphire with her form once again wavering with heat. "WE COULD REALLY DO WITHOUT THE SASS RIGHT NOW!"

"GUYS!"

For the second time that day, Steven just hardly managed to bring their attention to him. The Centipeetle tensed under their gazes.

"What's going on?!" Steven cried. "I thought we were on a team! What happened?!"

Ruby heatedly growled, "What _happened_ is that Sapphire, once again, has decided that she can say and do whatever she wants without any consequences, and still act like she's better than everyone!"

Sapphire coolly replied, "Ruby is overreacting. As usual."

"See?!" Ruby threw her arms into the air. "THAT'S what I mean! You say things that you _know_ are going to upset me, then act like you have no idea what I'm talking about!"

"Maybe," countered Sapphire, "You should look around the room and decide for yourself whether or not your reaction is appropriate."

Before Ruby could make another retort, Steven spoke up, "How many times do we have to go through this?! You guys were saying the exact same thing when we went to the Jungle Temple! Can't you guys just drop it? We need to clean this place up before Opal comes home!"

Ruby's hands curled into fists. "No! This whole mess wouldn't be here if Sapphire hadn't been as immature as ever and Bubbled me! This is _her_ mess, not mine! You can tell Opal that when she gets home!"

She stomped forward, moving past Steven and through the empty doorway. When she came to the railing, she pulled herself over and disappeared from sight. The Centipeetle growled after her.

Steven sighed through his nose as he turned around. "Sapphire?"

To his surprise, she had already left. His head turned left and right, trying to figure out where she had gone, and only stopped when he caught a flicker of movement. Through one of the potholes in the floor, he could see Sapphire walking away through the sand below his Room.

Not a moment later, he heard a familiar 'woosh' and looked up just as the light pulled away from the Warp Pad.

"I'm hooome~!" Opal called out. She had her eyes closed shut and a smile across her face as she stepped down to the floor. "The Cove is okay. There was a giant pufferfish there, but I took care of—"

Her eyes finally opened and stopped on Steven. Then they trailed over to the shaking Centipeetle. Then they trailed over to the missing door. Then the slashed wall. Then the potholes, and the footprints, and the half-frozen, half-melted stool.

When she said nothing, Steven spoke up, bringing her attention back to him. "There's...uh...something I need to tell you..."

Opal's eyes went wide and she spoke in a low whisper. _"The others are dead."_

"What? _No!_ "

* * *

"...and then you came back. I don't know what Ruby and Sapphire are doing now."

Opal nodded, frowning. She and Steven were in her Room, seated atop her stacked collection of sofas overlooking a pool of shimmering water. The Centipeetle sat between them, gnawing and disintegrating a collection of rubber dog toys that Opal had forgotten she owned.

Opal brought a finger to her chin. "I know that I'm supposed to be the 'leader'—" Her bottom hands rose up to create quotation marks in the air. "—but I didn't think that they were _afraid_ of me..."

"No, no, no! They're not _scared_ of you!" Steven paused. "They said they you were 'better' than them, like they didn't want to disappoint you…"

Opal said nothing. She pursed her lips and turned away from Steven with her eyebrows knit together. She absentmindedly combed through the Centipeetle's mane with her fingers.

Eventually, Steven spoke up, "It's weird. When they were trying to hide it from you, they were working together just fine. Then I left and they just started clawing at each other again."

Opal's eyes went wide, and Steven could almost see the light-bulb go off over her head. She turned to him with a grin on her face and her eyes shining. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Slowly, a smile lifted up Steven's lips and he nodded. "Yeeeeeeah." He paused. "But you should tell me anyway just to be sure."

* * *

Ruby's arm moved for the door, only to touch nothing. She paused, and only then seemed to notice it lying against the railing. She pursed her lips and continued inside.

Her eyes scanned the room, just as damaged and tossed about as she had left it. Her lips pursed further, and her eyes fell on the black footprints that she had left. Maybe she should have cleaned those up…At least get some more wood while she was out…

"Steven!" Her voice was met with nothing. In a softer voice, she called, "Opal?"

Neither of them appeared, but another Gem did. Sapphire's white gloves appeared at the edge of one of the gaping holes in the floor, then her head.

Pulling herself up, she asked, "Are Steven or Opal here?"

Ruby shrugged. She still wasn't quite happy with Sapphire at the moment, and although she knew the feeling was mutual, she didn't have the energy to start another argument. "If they are, I don't see them."

She walked back out of the house to the railing of the deck. She cupped her hands around her mouth and cried, "STE-VEN! O-PAL!"

Laid down behind the Warp Pad, Steven inched his head up to peek at them. Ruby was on the deck and Sapphire had her back to him. He silently moved up to the Warp Pad and activated it. The light swallowed him, but he did not go anywhere, staying where he was for just a few seconds until the light disappeared once more. As he wanted and expected, Ruby and Sapphire had both turned to him.

Panicked and terrified, with sweat collected on his brow, Steven cried, "RUBY! SAPPHIRE! HELP!"

Their reactions were instant. Sapphire had zoomed over to him in the blink of an eye, and Ruby skidded against the floor as she dashed over. Both held their hands to him as if expecting him to collapse at any moment.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"I-I was upset that you guys were fighting, and I went to the Cove to go get Opal," he gasped out. "A-and I went to the Cove t-to get her, but right when I did, a giant Gem monster came out of _nowhere!_ It got Opal and th-the Centipeetle, and Opal held it off so I could run away! We have to go help them!"

"Okay, okay." Sapphire waved her hands at him. "Calm down."

Ruby placed a hand on both of their backs and pushed them forward. "Let's go!"

The three of them pressed together on the Warp Pad and quickly activated it together. As they rose from the surface, their hair and fabric lifting into the air, Ruby's brows furrowed on her forehead as she turned to Steven. "How did you know how to get to the Cove?"

" _Does it matter?!"_

"Okay, okay!"

They hit the surface again as their environment appeared around them. They stood at a far end of a crescent-shaped beach illuminated in the light of the moon and stars. Dark waves lapped at the pearly white sand and the rim of the Warp Pad. There was no Gem or bug monster to be seen.

Steven cupped his hands around his mouth, and he and Ruby both screamed out, "OPAL?!"

Somewhere beyond the thick trees and bushes, a distant voice, strained and frantic, screamed back, "STEVEN!"

The three of them splashed through the saltwater and stumbled through the sand until they were running into the jungle. They tripped over the roots and their skin was swatted raw with vines and branches. As dark as it was, they could see hardly anything other than their silhouettes. Somewhere in their run, their path was blocked by a large tree fallen on its side. Ruby wrapped her arms around Steven and Sapphire's waists and lifted them up with her. At another point, the dangling vines became too thick to weave through, so Sapphire used her knuckledusters to slash them down and lead them through. Every now and then, they would call out for Opal, and her replies would come closer and closer.

At long last, they broke from the trees and found themselves standing in the middle of a sort of valley. Jugged and uneven walls rose up on either side of them with waterfalls dripping from their cracks and fissures. A pillar of rock and boulders stood between the walls, and below it, the water falling from the walls collected into a pool.

Atop the pillar, Opal pulled at the bars of a small cage built of wood and stone. She appeared battered and exhausted. Her hair was a mess of twigs and leaves and her clothes were smeared in mud and torn in patches. When she saw them, she pulled at the bars again, but as strong as she was, it was clear that she was simply too worn out to do anything.

Sapphire tapped on Ruby's shoulder. "You stand guard. I'll get her down."

Ruby nodded and summoned her gauntlets onto her hands. She stood before Steven and faced the jungle as Sapphire dashed to the pillar. She quickly climbed and propelled herself up to the cage, and with her knuckledusters, she slashed and swiped at the bars.

"Where's the Centipeetle?" she asked Opal.

As Sapphire pulled a bar away, Opal replied, "I don't know! It ran away when the monster attacked!"

From below, Ruby called, "Where IS the monster?"

Opal shrugged. " _I don't know!_ It threw me in here and left!" She pursed her lips, murmuring, "It's smart, I'll give it that. Keep your eyes peeled or it'll sneak up on—!"

She was cut off by the sound of a thundering roar the emitted from all around them. Everyone immediately went rigid, and Ruby held an arm out to Steven. There was another roar, louder, closer than before.

Opal gasped out, "It's back!"

Sapphire went to tearing at the cage with twice as much speed as before. Ruby held her feet apart and her gauntlets upwards in preparation to strike at any moment.

"What do we do?" whispered Steven.

"Just stay behind me," Ruby whispered back.

From the wall closest to them, a cascade of boulders came rolling down in their direction. Steven went to clumsily stumbling and lunging out of their path while Ruby expertly side-stepped them. She pressed her gauntlets together and aimed them to where the stones had rolled down from. Her gauntlets shot off of her arms in a blast of steam like rockets. They crashed into the stone, creating a spray of dust and pebbles, and even more stones came rolling down.

Steven dodged these stones, too, moving closer and closer to the wall with each move he made. He finally stopped to catch his breath…which was quickly cut off when something inside a deep crevice grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in. His scream was drowned into an echo, and whatever had grabbed him sealed the opening with a cascade of rocks.

"STEVEN!" three voices cried at the same time.

Ruby ran to the crevice, tearing away at the rocks. On the other side, Steven placed the last stone into its place and made his way to his next spot. He had to be careful not to trip in the dark, winding tunnels, while also being as quick as he could be and making sure the splashing of his flip-flops wasn't too loud.

At some point, he stopped to peek through a crack. In the jagged stone, he went unnoticed by the Gems. Ruby had stopped pounding at the rock, but was now glaring at the wall with newfound fury. Sapphire was now ravaging the cage with her teeth grit. Opal was playing her role perfectly, whipping her head left and right, frantic and panicked.

He kept moving forward through the tunnels. Outside, Ruby bellowed, _"GIVE HIM BACK!"_

He came to the next spot, a plateau that was covered by a wall of jagged stone. The Centipeetle was there, standing in front of a large horn just like the one it had used a minute prior. Steven nodded, and the Centipeetle screeched, the horn turning its sound into a bellowing roar.

Steven peeked down to the ground. Ruby had turned to the sound, as he expected, and was aiming her gauntlets once more. Steven grabbed the Centipeetle and the horn and took off running. He heard the gauntlets smash into the stone behind him.

At the next plateau, Steven set the Centipeetle and the horn down and moved to the slingshot that he and Opal had built earlier. This was the part that he had the most concern about, but he knew it would work fine regardless. It held a sharp arrow of a log held back only by rope. Steven aimed it carefully, first pointing it at Sapphire but then lifting it upwards.

The Centipeetle roared again, and Ruby turned to the sound. She could see the arrow but nothing else, and she cried, "SAPPHIRE, LOOK OUT!"

Sapphire flung herself away from the cage, and the arrow soared down just a moment later. It splintered against the far wall instead of hitting Sapphire or Opal. Ruby and Sapphire stood side-by-side, both tense with their weapons ready.

This part also made Steven uneasy, but he again knew that it was for the better. He put the Centipeetle down and simply screamed. He shrieked as loud and as hard as he could, as if he were in pain and terror. He knew that at this exact spot, his voice would carry everywhere, so there would be no way of knowing where he was.

He heard his name being screamed, groans and growls of frustration, then whimpers as his screaming continued. He was happy that he didn't have to look at Ruby or Sapphire, because he knew that with every "HELP" and "NO" he threw into his screaming, it was like twisting their guts with knives.

"STEVEN!" Ruby's cry was only met with more screaming, but she dug her fingers deeper into her hair and continued, "STEVEN, I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY I WAS BEING SO IMMATURE! YOU WOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME!"

" _No!"_ Sapphire pressed her face into her hands. _"No, I should have known better! I was being so petty and selfish! I'm sorry!"_

The screaming stopped.

Sapphire lifted her head from her hands as Ruby's fingers slowly dropped from her hair. They both turned to Opal, and blanched when they found her sitting cross-legged in her cage with a smile on her face. She flashed brightly, and her body returned to its clean and proper state. She then stood to her feet, easily breaking the top of the cage off and tossing it over her shoulder before placing her hands on her hips.

"Welp," she said, "Now that that's taken care of, we can finally tell you that this was all a way of getting you two to stop—!"

Her voice was cut off by the sound of a warbled growl loud enough to echo throughout the valley. In the jungle, trees crashed to the ground, and vines crackled and snapped. Steven held his breath. This was _not_ part of the plan.

The monster that broke out of the jungle appeared as a giant, hovering pufferfish, green along its scaly back and reddish pink at its underbelly. Its swollen body was covered in needle-sharp spines that jutted out in every direction. Gray lips were pressed together as its diamond-shaped pupils glared down at the Crystal Gems, and it huffed warningly.

From the plateau, Steven felt his jaw drop at the sight. He stood to his toes and called down to Opal, who was just as confused and alarmed as the rest of them.

 _"Opal! I thought you said you took care of the giant pufferfish!'_

As Ruby and Sapphire stared at him, baffled, Opal replied, _"I did, I swear!"_

Opal paused, turning her eyes back to the Gem monster. Frowning, she added, "But I thought it was smaller, and less pointy, and..."

She trailed off into silence as everyone continued to watch her.

It took a moment for her to slowly and sheepishly call, "You know, now that I think about it…Maybe that was one of its offspring..."

The pufferfish sucked in a deep breath and blew it out in a harsh, powerful gust that swept Ruby and Sapphire off their feet and sent Opal tumbling down the pillar. Steven ducked behind a wall of rock, hearing the wind howl and whistle around them. The Centipeetle was snarling, its hair rising on end.

When the wind stopped, Steven peeked to look at the Pufferfish. It was sucking itself together, it seemed, with its eyes squeezed shut and its body pulling inwards. When it let itself go, every spike on its body shot out, firing into the rock and earth. The Gems dodged out of the paths of the spikes, while one went right to the plateau where Steven and the Centipeetle hid.

The barrier they sat behind was blasted away instantly. Steven gasped at the force, and coughed and sputtered when he sucked in the dust. Opening his eyes again, he flinched when he saw that the Pufferfish was now glaring directly at them, and was bringing in another breath.

Steven grabbed the Centipeetle and slid down the side of the valley just as a gust harsh enough to cut skin came blowing at the plateau. They stumbled down to the earth in a heap.

Something began to growl and snarl with ferocity, and Steven turned to the Centipeetle. It looked like a rabid animal. Its jaws were snapping closed and shut, acid flying everywhere, jumping up and down. The Pufferfish glared at it, and it only became more frantic.

"Centi, calm down!" Steven's words only seemed to spur the Centipeetle more. "It's not a friend, but you need to take it easy!"

He reached out a hand to it, and almost immediately felt his chest burning. He gasped and pulled himself away, landing down on his back. He heard his name called again, and cracked open an eye to look at the Crystal Gems.

Opal was firing at the Pufferfish as fast as she possibly could, but it was zipping around in every direction. Ruby grabbed Sapphire and threw her at the Pufferfish like a football. Sapphire just barely scraped by its fin, and was left to drift back to the ground.

Steven looked down at his chest. A slash of acid had met his shirt. The fabric was rotting away in smoke before his eyes. The skin of his chest was pink and raw to the touch, but it wasn't burned nearly as badly as it could have been.

The Centipeetle was still jumping and snarling and now, with its head whipping left and right, it was spewing acid in every direction. The jets almost hit the Crystal Gems, distracting them and making them stumble, but the Centipeetle refused to calm down.

As Steven watched, he realized that it wasn't aiming for the Pufferfish anymore. Its eye was trained on the Crystal Gems. It jumped back every time Opal fired and arrow and snarled with every swing and punch Ruby and Sapphire made.

"Centi! Centi, stop it! Please!" Steven pulled himself to his feet. "It's okay! We're friends, remember? Calm down?"

He stepped forward again, and had to duck out of the way of another jet of acid. When he landed, he had to move again, as the Centipeetle was now firing everything it had at him.

"Centi, it's _me_! Steven!"

The Centipeetle paused for just a moment before spewing at him again. Steven tripped back over a stone embedded in the ground, and landed on his back with a grunt.

Turning his eyes to the Crystal Gems, Steven saw that the Pufferfish had moved in on them and was using its breath to drive them up the cliff-side. They fumbled to grab something to anchor themselves with. Opal found a grip on the rock with three hands and used the other to grab Ruby when she went tumbling to her. Ruby just barely managed to snatch her hand in hers, and when Sapphire flew to her, she reached out to grab her.

The Centipeetle was now closing in on him. It was snarling lowly, warningly, and snapped its jaws at him. Steven inched back, but found himself cornered against a boulder.

"I-I know you're scared," he told it. "B-But I swear I'm not going to hurt you! No one's going to hurt you!"

The Centipeetle stopped before him. Its jaws continued to snap, but its snarls dropped lower.

The Pufferfish finished its gust with a final, powerful huff. Opal lost her grip, and the three of them went flying to the top of the cliff. As they sprawled out like rag dolls, the Pufferfish turned back to Steven and the Centipeetle. It drifted towards them as its body already began to sell. More spines had already formed on its body.

Steven only noticed it when it was a mere twenty feet away. He threw an arm out, and the Centipeetle jumped back.

 _"Centi! Look out!"_

The Centipeetle whipped around. The Pufferfish was swelling to its largest, its eyes directed at them.

Steven didn't know what to do. He could run, but the Pufferfish was fast, and would probably catch him with its gust. He pressed himself against the boulder.

The Centipeetle's head whipped between Steven and the Pufferfish. There was a low rumble, and the Centipeetle stared up at the Pufferfish, growling.

Just as the Pufferfish's gray lips opened, the Centipeetle leapt up right through them with a _POP._

The Pufferfish's eyes bulged out as it croaked. Its body began to shrink and twist, pulling in and out like a balloon, before it finally burst with a _POOM_ and a cloud of shimmering dust. Putrid green steam also lifted into the air before wafting away.

The Pufferfish's green-and-pink Gem fell to the ground beside the Centipeetle's.

When he finally brought himself together, Steven stood to his feet and ran over to them. He quickly Bubbled the Pufferfish's Gem and sent it away, but held the Centipeetle's Gem in his palms. It was still warm, but its pupil was gone, leaving it lifeless.

"Steven!"

He heard footsteps coming to him, and then felt the others kneel and lean forward behind him. He sighed as he encased the Gem in a pink Bubble and held it to his chest.

"It was freaking out," he told them, "because of everything that was happening. But it saved me."

He felt fingers weave themselves into his curls, then Ruby's voice, "I'm sorry, Steve."

There was a pause, then Sapphire's voice. "It's my—"

"It's no one's fault," he told them.

He pressed down on the Bubble and sent it away to Ruby's Room. He stood to his feet, dusting the dust off of his already-ruined shirt.

"Still," Ruby sighed, "We should've worked it out from the beginning."

Opal nodded, but not scolding. "Yes, you should have." She bent down to them, sitting on her toes with her hands on her knees. "I know you guys think I'm the leader, but together, we're a _team_. We're supposed to work together, not be against each other."

Ruby and Sapphire nodded.

When they began to move back to the jungle, Sapphire with a hand between Steven's shoulders, Ruby spoke up, "You know, I get that the whole point of that was to get us to get along…" She turned to Opal and threw her arms into the air. "But could you have done it a little tamer?! I'm going to have nightmares forever!"

"I promise," Opal replied, "That everything that happened was taken into account and nothing would go wrong." She paused. "Except for the Pufferfish, that really came out of nowhere."

The two of them began to toss arguments back and forth, hot and upset, but also laughing and light-hearted. Steven laughed when Ruby's arms began to flail, and Sapphire smiled when she added that she was simply surprised that she didn't see it coming.

When they were back to the Warp Pad, Sapphire set a hand on Steven's shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay?"

He nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah. I'll try again with the Centipeetle. I may not bring it back to normal, but I'll try. Maybe it'll work someday."

The Crystal Gems nodded, and they were whisked away by the Warp Pad.


	22. The Blog

The room was dark save for the single lamp on the table. Its head was tilted so the harsh glare was aimed right in the face of the person across the table. There was the short screech of a chair sliding on the floor as someone stood to their feet and leaned over the table. Hands pressed to the top as eyes narrowed downwards.

"Alright, Universe," Ronaldo Fryman growled. "You know why you're here."

Steven, with a hand lifted to shield his eyes from the glare, replied, "Not really."

"You're here because I have questions. Questions only _you_ know the answer to. So make yourself comfortable."

"To be honest, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if my eyes weren't on fire."

Ronaldo hummed and tilted the lamp down at the table. He reached underneath it and pulled out a collection of papers, folders, and photographs that he spread out before Steven. Steven leaned forward to look over them curiously.

"First question. What can you tell me about... _this_?"

With the swipe of his hand, the papers were parted just enough to show a creased photograph. It showed a familiar dark rock on white sand busted open to show the glittering, hollow green inside. The photograph was paper-clipped to a sheet with jumbled notes reading 'EGG?', 'CAN THEY REPRODUCE?', and 'TWINS?!'

Steven lifted the photograph closer to his eyes. "Ohhhh." He smiled at Ronaldo and explained, "That's one of the eggs from that Worm-thingy we fought a while back. Can you believe it crashed Jenny's birthday party?" He tutted and shook his head. "The nerve of some worms..."

Ronaldo leaned closer. The lens of his glasses glinted. "So something _did_ hatch out of this?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah, it was a baby worm. I'm pretty sure they all disappeared when the big one poofed. Or they just went back into the ocean." Steven shrugged. "I don't know."

Ronaldo hummed, and then leaned back with his eyes on the photograph. "I see."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stamp. He pressed it down on the photograph and paper, leaving 'SOLVED' in bold red letters.

Ronaldo sifted through the papers again. The next photograph depicted a small blossom with glimmering petals of every color, placed in soft grass. Written around this photo was 'WHERE DID IT COME FROM', 'UNKNOWN SPECIES', and 'SMELLS NICE'.

"What about _this_? And don't play any games with me!"

Steven frowned and squirmed when he saw the photo. "That's one of the flowers from Mom's garden." Steven went still, but before Ronaldo could ask why, Steven cried out _, "Please tell me you didn't touch any thorns!"_

"I'm a professional, Steven." Ronaldo reached into his other back pocket and pulled out a pair of flowery pink gloves. "I take proper safety precaution. I found it out on the road."

Steven sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Thank goodness. But yeah, Mom planted those things in a garden. But no one is supposed to go there! It's super dangerous!"

Ronaldo nodded and slammed the 'SOLVED' stamp onto the photograph. Then he reached into yet another pocket and withdrew a small tape recorder. He brought it close to his face, pressed the button, and murmured, "Note to self, number eighty-two: Ensure safety around Rainbow Mom Garden."

Ronaldo once again went through the papers, but this time, he pulled out a sheet and glared down at Steven. Steven just blinked up at him.

"Alright, Universe. This is the one that I'm _really_ leaning on you for."

Steven looked him up and down. He was leaning forward so much his belly was pressed to the table top. "You got that right!"

Ronaldo leaned back and stood straight. "What can you tell me...about THIS?"

He slapped the paper down in front of Steven. Shapes and markings were scrawled on the paper in various colors of ink and wax. It was in squares, too, like it had been folded, and there were grains of sand scattered on it.

"You left this on the bench outside of Beach Citywalk Fries approximately one hundred and twelve hours ago. I know you're involved with the phenomenon that plagues Beach City. The stuff that _makes Beach City weird_. So you're going to explain to me exactly what these symbols mean."

Steven lifted up the paper. He grinned and chuckled. "Oh yeah! I forgot this when I was out there last week."

Gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles went white, Ronaldo hissed, "Are they code? A language? _A plan for invasion?!_ "

"What? No. It's a boat. See? This is the water, this is the boat, this is the sail, and these arrow-shaped thingies are birds. I thought I did pretty good."

Ronaldo took the paper back and studied it. He turned it left and right in his hands. Eventually, he set it back down with a hum and reached for his tape recorder again. "Note to self, number eighty-three: Increase knowledge in contemporary art."

He took out the stamp again, but stopped short of slamming it on the paper. He flipped it over to the blank side and pressed it down lightly so the red ink didn't seep through.

At that moment, all lights in the room flickered on, causing both of them to flinch. The room they were in was not an interrogation room of any sort—it was just the kitchen of Beach Citywalk Fries with the windows shut.

Peedee, with his hand still on the light switch, raised a brow when he saw Steven sitting at the table and Ronaldo holding the tape recorder. He sighed.

"Ronaldo, Dad said you can only interrogate people when you're _off_ work."

Ronaldo made a sort of 'harrumph' sound and clicked off the lamp. "When there's no work _to do_ , I am off work."

Peedee looked over to the service window and groaned. He walked over to it, undid the latch, and lifted the screen. As it rattled upwards, he called back to Ronaldo, "Of course there's no work—you shut the stand down!"

Ronaldo rolled his eyes and he went to gathering up the documents in his hands. He tapped them straight on the table top. "Peedee, we're shut down for today so we could finish packing up, remember?"

Peedee made a 'harrumph' sound of his own and stood alert behind the counter. Dusting it off, he replied in a clipped voice, "Well I'd hate to disappoint a paying customer by being closed for 'personal reasons.'" He said this while making quotations with his fingers.

The third Fryman came into the room then. His hair, bright yellow and shooting up as straight as needles, brushed against the doorway as he stepped inside. He had a cardboard box tucked underneath his arm.

"Peedee, shut the stand down. No working today."

Peedee grumbled under his breath. He brought the screen back down on the counter and locked it with a huff.

Steven was still sitting at the table, feeling more than a little awkward. He glanced to Peedee, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, then to Ronaldo, who was thumbing through his papers with a perplexed expression. He heard rattling, and looked over to Mr. Fryman, who was knelt down in front of one of the cabinets. He was pulling out bottles of ketchup and mustard and stacking them into the box.

"So," Steven chirped up, "Are you guys renovating today? Is that what you're packing up for?"

"Huh? Oh, no." Mr. Fryman stood to his feet and reached up into another cabinet. As he pulled out napkins and paper baskets, he told Steven, "We're heading out for our annual Fryman Forest Fest!"

"Fest?"

Ronaldo, with his eyes still on the papers, explained, "It's a road trip. The 'Fest' part is just to add alliteration."

Mr. Fryman proudly spoke up, "Almost three days of fishing, rafting, and sleeping under the stars all while feasting on fries cooked over an open fire." He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes at the thought. "Hoo boy, is it a break from work."

"Still," Peedee cut in, "A three-day break? That's a lot of potential money."

Mr. Fryman rolled his eyes, but he smiled while he did it. "Peedee, you know you like the camping trip. Don't deny it."

Peedee scowled at the wall. "Like I said, taking three days off and disappointing customers is kind of rude..." Seeing Steven watching him, he cracked a small smile and shrugged. "But yeah, it _is_ kind of cool."

"Alright, boys, keep packing up," Mr. Fryman told them. "I'll take care of everything in here."

Steven craned his neck to peek inside the box. It was packed full of condiments, napkins, and whatever else was in the cabinets.

"That's a lot of stuff for just three days."

Mr. Fryman blinked at him. His eyes went down on the box, his mouth formed an 'o', and he chuckled. "No, no, no. I'm just putting this stuff up for safekeeping. Never know what kind of creeps will steal your condiments when your back is turned."

Box in hand, he walked over to the other wall with a poster of health and safety tips. He peeled it off of to reveal a sturdy metal door with a numbered knob at its middle.

He lifted a hand to the knob, but stopped when he noticed Steven watching.

He narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm going to need you to turn around, Steven."

"Oh! Right. Sorry."

Steven turned around in his seat. He could hear ticking and a loud creak behind him.

Not sure of what to do then, Steven looked around and the Fryman brothers. Peedee was lifting a bulging backpack onto his shoulders with a grunt. He managed to keep it on, even though he was almost bent in half and his skin was flushing scarlet. Ronaldo walked out of the door with his documents and interrogation lamp.

Steven turned to Peedee. "So what do you guys usually do at the..." He waved a hand through the air. _"Fryman Forest Fest?"_

Peedee's voice was tight when he replied, "Normal stuff. Fishing, tracking, making s'mores...Ronaldo and I race to the top of the hills every year. He always wins, but..." He narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist. _"He doesn't know about my secret training."_

Steven hummed. "Sounds fun."

Mr. Fryman spoke up, "Welp, that should cover it."

Steven turned around and barely caught a glimpse of condiments, potatoes, and a small stack of gold bricks inside the safe before Mr. Fryman it close.

Mr. Fryman turned to Peedee as he smoothed the poster over the door. "You ready to head out?"

Peedee's face was border-lining on mauve, but he still managed to gasp out, "Yeah."

Mr. Fryman cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Alright, Ronaldo, let's go!"

Ronaldo did not appear immediately. Rather, his backside appeared first, then his shoulders and head. His teeth were grit as he pulled something on the other side of the doorway.

"Coming," he breathed out.

Mr. Fryman frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Ronaldo, we talked about this. No gadgets and gizmos on the Fryman Forest Fest—the car is already packed as it is."

"But Dad, I only have a few things!"

Ronaldo tugged the thing out from the hallway to show his father. It looked like a service cart of sorts, except that it was packed full of cameras, papers, metal detectors, antennas, radios, and something in a glass canister that was glowing bright green.

"The only devices allowed are cameras for taking memories," Mr. Fryman told him. He paused before adding, "And our phones. That was a mistake during the firenado."

Mr. Fryman turned on his heel and left before Ronaldo could protest. Ronaldo threw his head back with a loud groan and angrily shoved the cart back down the hallway. There was a deafening crash and a cat's yowl, but he ignored it.

"I have so many things I have to do," he grumbled to no one in particular. "I have countless theories to prove. And countless theories to _make_! How will I figure anything out without my sleuth gear?"

Peedee rolled his eyes. "It's three days. You'll live."

Ronaldo sent his younger brother a glare. "Peedee, put the bell back."

Peedee grumbled, but set the call bell back onto the counter. He gave it another ring, which seemed to calm him down a bit.

Steven pursed his lips as he tried to think of anything that could help Ronaldo. His eyes trailed over the kitchen, scanning over counter-tops and shelves, until they fell on the shelf beside him. He smiled and picked up a worn notepad and the pencil on top of it. He held them out to Ronaldo, who took them with a raised brow.

"They're not digital, but they'll help."

Ronaldo sighed. "It'll be tough, but I can manage. Thanks, Steven."

Steven nodded.

...However, Ronaldo kept staring at him. His face was expressionless save for his steadily growing eyes.

"Steven."

"Yeah?"

 _"Steven."_

"...Yeah?"

 _"STEVEN."_

"YEAH I SAID YEAH."

Ronaldo grabbed Steven by the shoulders and leaned so close that the curls of their hair brushed together. All Steven could see was a pair of glasses over eyes sparkling with joy.

"You can come with us!"

Steven pulled back and raised a brow. Ronaldo continued to just grin from ear to ear.

"What?"

"If you come with us, I'll get so many things solved! By the time we get back, I'll have more things done in three days than the past five months _combined_!"

There was an interrupting cough.

Peedee looked up at Ronaldo with a frown. "You can't just bring someone along for the _Fryman_ Forest Fest at the last second." He sent Steven a shrug. "No offense, Steven."

Steven pulled a hand to his heart and ducked his head. Softly, he said, "I understand."

Ronaldo hummed and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess I can't do that, huh?" But then he threw his arms into the air and exclaimed, "But Dad can! _Dad!_ "

Mr. Fryman was leaning in the doorway in two seconds flat. "What?"

"Can Steven come with us? Please? It's just one more person, and he won't bring anything other than a camera!"

Steven cut in, "My mind _is_ a camera." He brought his hands to his face, formed a square, and clicked his tongue.

Mr. Fryman pursed his lips and looked between the three of them. Ronaldo was bouncing up and down, his hands gripping the notepad and pencil, and biting his lip. Steven just smiled and waved at him. Peedee had a brow raised.

"Mmm...Fine. But only because you're my most loyal customer."

He turned away again. Ronaldo threw his arms into the air with a whoop and laughed. Steven mimicked him, while Peedee's eyes flickered around the room.

Ronaldo looked down at Steven with his eyes bright and his hands in fists. "Are you ready for the Fryman Forest Fest, Steven?"

"Yeah!" Steven exclaimed. But then he paused, and his arms dropped down. "Wait, no. I am entirely unprepared."

* * *

Mr. Fryman adjusted the rear-view mirror. With his eyes flickering between it and the road, he asked, "How you doin' back there, Steven?"

Steven and Peedee were stuffed into the backseat of the car. It wouldn't have been such a tight squeeze if it weren't for the cheeseburger-backpack and hot-dog-duffel-bag that Steven had to stuff between them. Everything else was piled into the trunk, which was so small that the back window had to be left open and fishing poles were jutting out in every direction.

With his one cheek pressed against the window, Steven replied, "Doin' fine!"

"Good. How about you, Peedee?"

Peedee had his shoulder pressed into his cheek, so he just replied with a hum.

Ronaldo turned sideways in the passenger seat and held out a paper to Steven. Steven had to force one arm out from underneath his duffel bag to take it. As he did, Ronaldo asked him, "What is this?"

Steven glanced over the sheet. "I'm pretty sure that's one of Lion's paw prints."

Ronaldo nodded, took the paper back, and returned to the front seat to talk into his tape recorder again. Peedee sighed through his slightly-squished nose.

Mr. Fryman spoke up again, "So is this your first road trip, Steven?"

"Mm-Hm!" Steven turned his head—as much as he could, anyway—to look out the window. They had been driving for about an hour by that time, and they were travelling through land he didn't recognize. "It's not like going on adventures with the Crystal Gems, but it's really exciting. I get to go somewhere to just do fun things!" Another paper was passed to him. "That's a boulder that Ruby crushed."

The car slowed to a stop sign, and Mr. Fryman nodded. "Good. That means you'll be experiencing the great outdoors in all her glory for the first time."

"Can you—" Another paper. "That's a pair of sandals I lost a while back. Actually, if you could give me those later, I'd really appreciate it...Ahem, can you tell me about _the great outdoors_ , Mr. Fryman?"

"I _could_ ," Mr. Fryman replied, "but I'd probably ramble on for eternity. You see that pocket on the back of my seat?"

Steven looked down. There was a small nylon sack stitched into the back of the chair, stuffed with papers and napkins and whatever else. "Yep!"

"There should be a forest manual inside of it. It'll tell you everything you need to know."

Steven had to struggle, but he managed to pull himself forward enough to reach into the pocket. After a minute of rummaging, he pulled out a small, beat-up book with yellowed pages. The letters on the cover read, _GARRY GILBERT'S GUIDE TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS—Your Alliterative Atlas for All Things Animalistic_

Steven hummed. "Seems forced."

He flipped the stiff pages open. His eyes scanned down the words, slowly at first, then quickly.

By the time he finished the introduction, his eyes were glimmering. _"Oh my stars."_

As Steven practically inhaled the book, Peedee's eyes flickered to his brother in the front seat. His lap was full of papers and photographs. He was sifting through them with one hand and was speaking into his tape recorder in the other.

Peedee paused. After re-positioning his shoulder, he spoke up, "So, Ronaldo, what's our fishing plan this year? First to ten gets the big tent, or first to fifteen?"

Ronaldo didn't answer immediately. His eyes did eventually flicker up to Peedee, and widened just a fraction when he realized he had been spoke to. "Oh. Uh..." His eyes trailed back down to the papers as he mumbled, "I don't know...Whatever happens..."

Peedee pursed his lips and didn't say anything more. He turned back to the window to watch the scenery pass by.

Behind him, he heard, "Steven, what's this?"

"It looks like a picture of you dressed like a dragon."

"Wha—? Oh, sorry, wrong picture. My bad."

* * *

After about two hours of driving, they reached the first stop of their trip. It was a small gas station tucked into the side of the road. The sign on the roof was too faded to read clearly and there was only one pump outside. The inside was long but cramped, full of knickknacks and gear stuffed into barrels, and smelling of the smoke that was coming from the grill.

Mr. Fryman went to the counter to order bait (he told them that they could buy anything from the grill except fries, lest they bring shame to the Fryman name) while the boys walk about.

Well, somewhat. Ronaldo had gone to a corner in the back to type up a post to _Keep Beach City Weird_ while he still had a signal. Peedee was aimlessly wandering about. Steven, meanwhile, had gone straight to the small clothing section, grabbed a few items, and dashed into the single changing stall.

After going through the store twice, Peedee wandered to the back and propped himself against the wall. Ronaldo didn't glance up at him.

"So..." Peedee began. "Are you going to be on your phone for the whole trip?"

He paused, but kept typing. "Not the _whole_ time."

Peedee nodded.

"I'm going to be taking photographs, too. And writing."

Peedee opened his mouth, but all he let out was a sigh. He sunk lower against the wall.

A sudden rapping on the dressing stall's door made Peedee jump and Ronaldo finally look up from his phone.

From inside, Steven called out, "Are you guys ready?"

Peedee paused. "Ready for…what?"

"Ready for…"

The door flew open.

"STEVEN THE SUPERB SURVIVAL AND SAFETY SPECIALIST!"

He was dressed in oversized rubber boots, gloves twice the size of his hands, a thick camouflage jacket, and a heavy belt around his hips. The belt was already holding a length of rope, clips, and a flashlight. The neck of the jacket brushed against his cheekbones. He had his cheeseburger backpack on his shoulders, packed full.

He was grinning from ear to ear as he walked—well, waddled out of the stall. He turned in a stiff circle for Peedee and Ronaldo to see.

Ronaldo nodded. "Sweet." He held up his phone. "Smile for the camera."

As the flash went off, Steven explained, "It's my grand getup for going through the great gales...of grass...and..." Steven trailed off, then shook his head and continued, "Sorry. I read through the G.G.G.T.T.G.O. Long List of Luggage, and now I have everything I need for the great outdoors!"

Peedee's brows knit together. "'Long List of Luggage'?"

"Yeah, Garry really forces it sometimes. But he's been living in the wild for twenty years, so he knows what needs to be carried."

He slid his backpack off of his shoulders so it landed with a heavy _THUMP_ on the floor. He pulled a zipper open, and as Peedee watched, he said, "Steven, you do know this is only going to be three days, right? Not twenty years?"

"Ominous obstacles occur outside regardless of rain or rays, Peedee." Steven turned back to his backpack, oblivious to the flat glare Peedee was giving the wall behind him. "You have to be prepared for anything, which is why I have _everything_! Let's see...Trail mix, poncho, bird feed, fire repellent..."

Peedee frowned. "Fire repellent?"

Steven held up a spray bottle from his bag. The label read 'FIRE REPELLENT—1000% EFFECTIVE' in bold red letters, even though the liquid inside was clearly just water.

"Fire repellent!" Steven confirmed. He reached back into his backpack. "I'll be carrying most of the necessities, but I've got things for you guys, too. Here, Peedee."

Peedee held out his hand, but flinched when Steven put the item in it. It looked like a small white pistol with a wide barrel.

"Fire the flare in fits of fear," Steven told him.

Peedee nodded, but sweat was collecting on his temple. He looked like he wanted to get the flare gun as far away from him as possible. "Thanks."

"And here, Ronaldo."

Ronaldo lifted a hand away from his phone, but not his eyes. Something slim was slid into it, and he closed his fingers around it before finally glancing up. He was holding the handle of a long, shining blade.

"A man who makes magnificent use of a machete is a master of the wild," Steven told him, almost like a compliment.

Ronaldo stared at the machete for three more seconds before returning to his phone. "Thanks."

"Alright, boys," Mr. Fryman called out to them. He held up the bucket of bait as he walked to the door. "Let's get going! Lake Payuma is calling us!"

"WAIT!" Steven flung his backpack back onto his shoulders, snatched the flare gun and machete from Peedee and Ronaldo, and scrambled over to the register. "CASHIER MASTER, TAKE MY MONEY!"

* * *

Steven bit his lip as he twiddled with the handle of the fishing rod. He clicked the reel a few times, shook it up and down, and spun it once to make sure he could see where the line was at in the water. Once he had that done, his eyes turned back down to the book in his lap. He had a visor on his forehead to guard his eyes from the sun's rays.

"'Position your pole parallel to the point of the horizon'," he read to himself. He nodded. "I have no idea what that means, but I trust you, Garry." He turned over his shoulder. "Need some help, Peedee?"

Peedee shook his head and readjusted himself on the little seat of the boat. He shifted his visor without removing his eyes from the bobber of his line. His voice was clipped when he replied, "Got it all under control, thanks."

Steven nodded. He turned to Mr. Fryman, who was in his own boat about twenty feet across the water from theirs. "How about you, Mr. Fryman?"

He was met with a harsh shush and a finger-to-the-lips gesture.

Steven shrank back, whispering, "Right. Silence soothes the scallops..." He turned to Ronaldo and whispered, "Hey, Ronaldo? Are you not going to fish with us?"

Ronaldo was seated on the other side of the boat. Despite wearing the visor and life jacket that had been given to all of them, his hands were holding his phone instead of a fishing rod.

"More important things to take care of, Steven," he told him. "Speaking of which, what can you tell me about this?"

He turned his phone to Steven. It was hard to see in the sunlight, but Steven could make out the image of a trail of prints in white sand. It wouldn't have been an unusual sight if the prints weren't perfect ovals, lacking toes or whatever else. It took him a moment to realize what they were.

"Those are Opal's footprints, I think. She always walks on her tippy-toes, remember?" He lifted up a boot and wiggled the toe to demonstrate.

Ronaldo nodded and turned back to his phone, murmuring under his breath, "Footprints...of...four-armed...purple mother..."

A few more minutes of silence passed. Their lines would bob every now and then, but never stayed under. At one point, Steven reached into the bucket of fish feed and tossed out a handful. The second that it hits the surface, the water was splashing and bubbling with hungry mouths, but their lines stayed afloat.

Steven sighed. He turned to Peedee. "So is there something that we're fishing for, specifically?"

Peedee replied, "Well, _usually_ Ronaldo and I see who can catch the most fish...!"

He raised his voice, but it didn't affect Ronaldo. Mr. Fryman hushed him from his boat.

Peedee grumbled as he hunched over in his seat. "But other than that, it's free game."

"Oh!"

The sound came from Ronaldo, and when Steven turned to him, the phone was in his face again. This time, it was playing a video from the beach. The water was rising from the ocean while the sky flashed blue and cloudy to dark and starry. You wouldn't be blamed for thinking it was being played in fast-motion.

Steven frowned when he saw it. "All I know is that some weird stone thingies in Sapphire's room caused that."

"Stone thingies?" Steven nodded. Ronaldo's eyes went wide. "This adds credence to the Rock Civilization theory!"

While Ronaldo's fingers went flying across his phone, Steven turned back to Peedee. "Is there anything wumbo-jumbo that we're supposed to be fishing for?"

Peedee paused. The scowl on his face lifted a touch. "Well...There is Old Benjamin."

Steven frowned. He leaned forward just enough to see his reflection in the water. "We're fishing for an old guy named Benjamin?"

"Benjamin is a fish," Peedee explained. His voice dropped ominously low as he continued, "An ancient fish that's been in these waters for years and years. Every year, we catch a glimpse of him—the flick of a tail, his mouth snapping above the surface—but we, along with the rest of the world, have never caught him. They say that if you come to the shore of Lake Payuma with three buttons, a snail shell, and a thimble, and call his name out, he'll come to you with a mouthful of gold. I tried that once, when I was a kid. I waited until everyone was asleep and th—"

Peedee jumped back to attention when Steven practically flung himself on him.

"PEEDEE, QUIT YOUR FLASHBACKING, YOU'VE GOT A BITE!"

Sure enough, the bobber of his line had disappeared under the water, and it kept going and going...and _going_. The line was whizzing out of the rod, and when Peedee finally grabbed a hold of the reel and started winding it, it took all of his strength just to get it to stop.

His arms strained and twitched as he kept pulling on the reel. By the time he had wound it three times, sweat had collected on his brow.

"Here, I'll help."

Steven grabbed the rod with Peedee and started winding it with him. Peedee wasn't sure how strong Steven was, but they were winding the reel ten times faster than before. Whatever was on the other line was causing the water to bubble and ripple. The rod was bending with every movement.

"It's Old Benjamin," Peedee bit out. "Ronaldo, get the net ready!"

The line was coming incredibly close now. The rod was becoming an upside-down 'U' with how it was bending now. Peedee and Steven kept their grip tight.

Peedee looked over at Ronaldo. His eyes were still strained on his phone.

 _"Ronaldo! Get the net!"_

"Give me a minute," Ronaldo told him. "I've got to type up this new evidence before I forget it!"

With his arms shaking, Peedee growled, _"Ronaldooooo!"_

There was a tug, and something came blasting out of the water.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. Old Benjamin, probably five feet long and wider than the boat itself, flew over their heads. Slippery green skin and sharp fins glinted in the sunlight. Drops of water fell down all around them. Peedee and Steven gaped. Ronaldo typed on his phone. Mr. Fryman snapped a picture from his boat.

And then Old Benjamin went back into the water with a great splash...

...and took the boat with him.

Steven hardly had time to react before he felt himself being flung sideways, and then consumed in cold water. It only lasted for a few seconds, after which he was bobbing on the water by his life jacket. He sputtered and wiped the water away from his face. Peedee was bobbing next to him.

It took a moment for them to realize what had just happened. Steven's eyes turned left and right. The older Fryman brother was nowhere to be seen.

"Ronaldo? Ronaldo?!"

The upside-down boat lifted from the water. Underneath, Ronaldo was dry from the neck up. He must have managed to get underneath right when the boat tipped over.

He was holding his phone with a grin split across his face.

"It's okay," he told Steven and Peedee. "My phone is okay!"

Steven blinked at him, while Peedee threw his hands into the air, sending water splashing. "Well, thank GOODNESS your phone is alright! It's not like you were paying too much attention to it to help us catch Old Benjamin!"

"It's okay, Peedee!" From his boat, Mr. Fryman waved his camera. "I got a picture!"

The camera sputtered out a Polaroid right on cue. Mr. Fryman flicked in the air a few times, and looked at it with a huge grin.

The grin fell the moment he saw it. "Dang it—Lens flare!"

* * *

Mr. Fryman reached his spatula into the pan that sizzled over the campfire. He lifted up a few of the steaming potato slices inside and placed them in a small paper basket in his other hand.

"Alright, campers, everyone get your fill."

Mr. Fryman passed the basket to Steven, who sat next to him on the log. Steven took the basket and handed it to Peedee, who glared at nothing in particular as he passed it to Ronaldo. Ronaldo set it beside him and stuffed one into his mouth before returning to the scribbles on his notepad.

Mr. Fryman handed the next basket over, but when Steven held it out to Peedee, the boy just pulled his blanket tighter around himself. "I'm good."

Steven shrugged and ate one of the fries. As he chewed, he tilted the basket in his hand, then held it out to Mr. Fryman. "Got any fry bits in the pan?"

Mr. Fryman looked to the pan, nodded, and took the basket from Steven. "Give me a second."

As his spatula went to the pan again, Steven took in a deep breath and looked up. Beyond the tops of the trees, the stars twinkled and glimmered, almost as brightly as when he had been standing among them with Lapis Lazuli. The fire was warm on his skin and when Mr. Fryman prodded it with a stick, it sent up a plume of hot orange specks. He wondered why he had never gone camping before—this was great!

His eyes turned over to Ronaldo and Peedee. Ronaldo's hand was working so hard at the notepad that Steven wouldn't have been surprised if smoke started coming up from the page. Peedee was still glaring, and he occasionally glanced over at Ronaldo and rolled his eyes.

Admittedly, Ronaldo hadn't been so involved in the Fryman Forest Fest that day. Other than the fishing incident, his eyes had hardly left his phone, notepad, or documents the entire day. Mr. Fryman didn't seem to notice, and while Steven did, he didn't think much of it, since Ronaldo was always like that. Peedee's mood sunk lower all day, however, especially when he tried to talk to Ronaldo and got a grand total of ten syllables out of him.

Mr. Fryman cleared his throat, and when Steven turned back to him, he smiled and took the basket from him. He stuffed some fry bits into his mouth and sighed in delight.

"So," Mr. Fryman said to the boys, "Now that we're all around the campfire, does anyone have something they want to say? A funny story? A _scary_ story?"

Peedee's eyebrows rose. He held up a hand.

"I would like to remind you all that we're on relaxation time, so if it involves work—a scary story about running out of napkins, perhaps—we're going to keep it to ourselves."

Peedee glowered at nothing again. He stuffed his hand back into his blanket while Ronaldo finally looked up from his notepad and raised his hand.

"No conspiracy theories, either."

Ronaldo put his hand down.

Mr. Fryman sighed and looked at Steven. "How about you?"

Steven put his basket down and reached for his cheeseburger backpack behind him. While his hand hovered over the zipper, he asked, "How about a song? Gary Gilbert says that 'when things seem to be sailing south, a song should set some smiles!'"

Mr. Fryman shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Steven pulled out his ukulele, and as he fiddled with the knobs and strings, he told them, "I've been working on this since we left Beach City. Ahem..." His fingers danced across the strings.

 _"We're going on a R-O-A-D-T-R-I-P_

 _Heading out for an H-I-K-E_

 _We're going on a T-R-I-P_

 _Stayin' up 'til M-I-D-N-I-G-H-T"_

* * *

 _"So many things for us to see,_

 _So many things for us to do"_

The next day saw Steven and the Frymans drifting down a wide river winding through the woods. Mr. Fryman led them in his kayak, and Steven followed behind him in a little canoe. Every now and then, Steven would put his oars down to snap a picture of the trees or the shore, where birds and other forest critters appeared.

 _"I see a beaver, chipmunk, turtle, chickadee_

 _Gonna kayak and canoe"_

From behind them, Peedee grit his teeth as he continued to row his and Ronaldo's boat along. The boat was designed to have two people rowing at the same time, but Ronaldo was laid back in his seat with folders of photographs in his lap. Peedee sighed.

* * *

 _"There's trees and trails, paths, a great big lake_

 _So many cuddly creatures around"_

Later, Ronaldo, Peedee, and Steven were hiking through the woods on a forest path. Steven was having plenty of fun finding signs of animals and pointed out a few to Ronaldo and Peedee. Peedee seemed too annoyed to care and Ronaldo had his attention on his phone.

As Steven kept pointing around and talking, he looked ahead on them on the path, where there seemed to be a great log across it. His smile dropped and he stopped dead in his tracks.

 _"Oh, wait, no, is that a snake?_

 _Climb up this tree, where it's safe and sound"_

Steven and Peedee hugged themselves to the tree branches as the great brown snake crept down the path. Ronaldo was calmly sitting on his branch, snapping pictures of it and murmuring about 'sneople', or something like that.

* * *

Steven snuggled deep into his sleeping bag and smiled up at the stars twinkling over the trees. The crickets and frogs chirped and the fire crackled. Somewhere, an owl hooted.

" _Never been so far out  
Never seen all that nature holds  
It's so beautiful to see the stars out"_

A shiver crept over his skin, and he held his sleeping bag closer. A wolf howled in the distance. He buried his face into his little cocoon.

" _Even though there's dirt and mosquitoes and it's cold"_

* * *

" _We're going on a R-O-A-D-T-R-I-P  
Heading out for an H-I-K-E"_

Steven snapped one final picture of the camping ground before they headed out for the next part of their trip.

He turned and saw that Peedee was struggling to stuff their things into the truck of the car. It was one slip away from crashing down on him, and although he waved to Ronaldo, his older brother didn't so much as look up at him. Actually, he mindlessly put his bag on top of the mess and walked away, either oblivious to or ignoring his brother being buried underneath the luggage.

Peedee's head popped up from the pile and glared at Ronaldo. Steven's brows furrowed.

" _We're going on a T-R-I-P  
Stayin' up 'til M-I-D-N-I-G-H-T"_

* * *

"Alright, boys," Mr. Fryman called out as he shut the door of the car shut. "This is it. Do whatever you want, but stay together. I'll be down at the lake for some evening fishing."

Steven waved at him as he walked away and disappeared down the trail. This would be the final stop of their trip, and they'd spend the next day heading back to Beach City. They had set up their camp in a little spot in the woods not too far from the road. Hills rose all around the site, tall and steep and wide for miles.

Setting his stuff inside the tent that he and Peedee shared, Steven looked over to the car. Peedee was pulling things from the trunk with care, while Ronaldo stood just a few feet away.

Peedee pulled out Ronaldo's backpack and held it out to him. "Here."

Ronaldo's fingers moved across his phone.

"… _Ronaldo._ "

Ronaldo's phone bleeped, and he kept typing.

Peedee paused one more second before finally letting the backpack fall to the ground. He grabbed his things and stomped over to the tent. Steven stepped aside for him.

He watched as Peedee almost violently unrolled his sleeping bag and pulled things out from his backpack. Steven opened his mouth, closed it, and reached for his book.

He turned the pages, still a little stiff from the water, and tried to find something that could help them. Brotherly battles and bashes…? Familial fusses and frets…? Sibling struggles and situations…? Racing to repair your relationship—?

Racing. Race!

"Hey, Peedee?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't this where you and Ronald race to the top of the hills?"

Peedee set an electric lamp beside his sleeping bag. "I think we're skipping this year."

"But I thought you did it every year?"

Peedee bit back, "We _did_."

Steven paused. Then he sighed, turning away. "Fine. I guess Ronaldo won't get to see how your secret training worked out…"

He stepped out of the tent, but Peedee called out, "Are you trying to use reverse psychology on me?"

Steven turned back to him. Peedee was watching him intently. "Is it working?"

Peedee's lips pressed into a deep frown. "Yes."

He and Peedee were walking towards the hills a few minutes later. Ronaldo was against a tree, using the shade to keep the sunlight from his phone screen.

Steven walked up to him and tapped his elbow. "Hey, Ronaldo, it's time for you to race Peedee up the hills."

Ronaldo didn't spare him a glance. "Later, Steven. I'm busy now."

Steven sighed and put a hand over Ronaldo's phone. He finally looked down at him, eyebrows furrowed, looking almost offended.

"You've been busy ever since we left Beach City. Can't you take a break for just a bit?"

Ronaldo stared down at him for a long moment. He eventually tipped his head back with a sigh and reluctantly put his phone in his back pocket. "Fine. But let's be quick about it."

"All races are quick!"

* * *

Steven slumped against the boulder with a heave and a sigh. He laid there for a minute, trying to catch his breath, and finally reached behind him, underneath his backpack, to pull the walkie-talkie from his back pocket.

He pressed the button and spoke, "Are you guys ready?"

All the way down at the bottom of the hill—the path that spiraled around it took Steven about twenty minutes to jog-walk-crawl up—Peedee and Ronaldo stood side-by-side. Ronaldo tipped his head back and rolled his shoulders. Peedee was stretching and twisting and popping his joints.

Peedee picked up the walkie-talkie from the ground. "Ready." He tucked it into his back pocket.

"On your mark…"

Peedee rolled his neck.

"Get set…"

Ronaldo yawned.

"GO!"

Peedee kicked off of the ground and went charging.

He wasn't sure exactly how long it was. Everything flew past him; his heart pounded in his ribcage, his breaths came in in a steady one-two-one rhythm. He hardly felt his sneakers hitting the earth, hardly felt the wind whipping at his hair. He couldn't hear Ronaldo's footsteps, either. Just the wind in his ears.

He finally saw a familiar mop of brown hair on top of a small boulder. He raced to Steven, and as he scooted over, Peedee's hand slapped down on the stone.

He threw his hands up with one last burst of energy and whooped. He fell down to his knees, hands on the earth, heaving and wheezing. Steven handed him a water bottle, and he drank half of it and dribbled the rest over his neck.

He sat up, looking around for Ronaldo, waiting for him to come up the hillside. He wasn't sure which taunt he wanted to use first, but he decided to just wait until he saw him…

And waited…

And waited…

And _waited…_

Steven eventually held his fingers parallel to the sun and the tree line. Since the race started, the sun had sunk about a finger closer to the horizon. Ronaldo still hadn't arrived.

At his feet, Peedee sat up straight. Ronaldo had finally appeared at long last, creeping over the hillside…

…with his eyes on his phone.

Peedee's jaw slid open, but no words came out. His hands just rose and lowered silently.

Ronaldo span around in a few circles, walked a few feet ahead, and finally stopped. He tapped a final button on his phone and murmured, "And…post!"

He chuckled and turned to Peedee and Steven. "Can you believe I managed to get a bar out here?"

Steven and Peedee both stared at him. A cricket chirped somewhere.

Peedee stood to his feet. His face was flat, expressionless, eyebrows in a thin line.

"So that's it?" he said monotonously. "You spent the entirety of this trip on your phone, or your notepad, or your documents. Every single minute. Because you just couldn't go three days without them. You do it every other day of the year, and you weren't going to wait seventy-two hours."

"Peedee, the truth doesn't _wait._ " Ronaldo waved his phone in the air and cried, "I'm on the verge of a phenomenal breakthrough! This isn't just about sentient rocks anymore—it's about the control of the great Diamond Authority! You clearly don't understand how important this is!"

"Clearly not." Peedee waved an arm down the hillside. "So go head back to the campsite so you can get back to your work. No one's going to bother you for the rest of the trip."

Ronaldo watched him. He sighed, tipping his head back, and asked, "What, are you mad now? When the invaders come, you can tell them—"

"Are you going or not?"

Ronaldo's mouth closed shut. His eyes looked Peedee up and down, but Peedee just growled back. Eventually, Ronaldo turned around and descended back down the hill.

All the while, Steven curled his toes and pursed his lips. Peedee didn't say anything, just plucked up some blades of grass.

Eventually, Steven asked, "So…Do you want to head back down?"

"No," Peedee grumbled, "Let's just stay here for a while."

Steven nodded. "Okay. We'll stay for a while."

* * *

'A while' turned out to be until the sun was halfway down the horizon. They remained on top of the hill, and neither Ronaldo nor Mr. Fryman came up for them. Steven didn't try for conversation again. While Peedee sat at his feet, he continued reading through his book. The only sound was the occasional slip of the page.

He eventually read it all to the end, and put it in his lap when he did. Slowly, he hopped off the boulder and turned to Peedee.

"I'm going to go now," he told him. "Do you want to come with?"

Peedee added another grass blade to his pile. It was about a foot tall, and the earth around him was stripped bare. He dusted off his hands and sighed, "Sure."

Steven nodded, but as he moved forward, he saw something that made him stop. He held an arm out to stop Peedee (who was just sitting up) and bent down to inspect it.

In a dry part of the earth, there was a small press in the dust. It was a bit smeared, but Steven could make out five toes and slight claws. He quickly flipped his book open, while Peedee raised a brow behind him.

He suddenly jumped up with a loud gasp, startling Peedee. He waved his book in the air and explained in a rush of breath, "Beaver prints! There are beavers around here!"

Peedee shrugged. "Okay, so?"

"Peedee~! We can go see real, live beavers! In a real d…" He paused. "In a real wood fort! It'll be amazing! Gilbert says beavers are beautiful beings to bear!"

"I wouldn't call beavers amazing. Or beautiful."

"Have you ever seen one?"

"…No."

Steven raised his brows at him.

Peedee sighed, but waved his hand at the print. "Fine. Let's track them down. But I want to head back before it gets too dark."

"Of course," Steven said with a smile. "Dangers and disasters do occur in the dark, of course!"

"Yeah, yeah, just track."

* * *

Steven brushed another twig out of his path and inspected the earth. In the mud, framed in leaves, was another print, again smeared but distinguishable. He smiled in satisfaction and kept moving. He and Peedee had traveled partway down the hill and were now moving across the dip in-between it and the next one. The ground was beginning to rise again.

Behind him, Peedee asked with his arms crossed, "Any idea how close we are now?"

"Not exactly, but I have a feeling it's pretty close. Here, see?" Steven gestured to the base of a nearby tree. The bark was torn in chunks, showing the almost white inside underneath. "They've tried to get this tree, and they'd get trees near their wood fort, right?"

Peedee paused while Steven kept moving. "Wait, so why were they up on the hill?"

Steven shrugged, his eyes on his book. "Maybe they got lost."

As the ground became steeper, Peedee asked, "Why don't we just follow the river until—?"

"Look, look, look!" Steven waved his arms at the trees. More and more of them had their bark torn and shredded, and he started jogging up the hill. "We're getting closer!"

"Okay, okay, I'm—whoa!"

Peedee's foot slipped from underneath him, and he fell forward. He felt something crash and scrape against his knee, and yelped as he hit the dirt. By the time he was down, gloved hands were already on his shoulders.

"Are you okay?!" Steven gasped as he helped Peedee to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine."

Steven led Peedee over to a nearby rock big enough to sit on. Once seated, Peedee looked down at his knee. It was definitely scraped, and blood was already collecting, framed in dirt and bits of dead leaves. He sighed and went to carefully peeling them off.

"Here, here, here," Steven said as he slipped his backpack of his shoulders. Within seconds, he had handed Peedee a water bottle, disinfectant cream, and a bandage. "Use these."

"Thanks," Peedee sighed. He opened the water bottle and poured it over his knee to wash away the grime, and as he did, he told Steven, "Go ahead and walk up the hill. I don't know if the beavers are up there, but either way, we should probably be heading back."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay." Steven held his hands out to Peedee. "I'll be right back."

Steven picked up his backpack and his book and climbed up the hill as quickly as he could.

Once he finally made it to the top, which was not too far away, he smiled when he saw that there was finally something different…then frowned. His eyes flicked down to his book. He looked back up.

Peedee wiped the cream over his knee and stuck on the bandage.

"Hey, Peedee?"

"Yeah?" he called.

"Can you come up here for just a second?"

"What's wrong?"

"I need to make sure I'm right about something."

Peedee stood to his feet and climbed up the hill. Climbing over rocks and twigs, Steven's mop of brown curls came into view, then his cheeseburger backpack. He ducked his head down and used a small surge of energy to jog up next to him.

"Okay, what's up?" he asked.

"I just wanted to make sure: Is that a beaver?"

Peedee looked ahead.

A bear sat in the shade of a small but wide cave before them. It was covered in thick, dark fur, with limbs as thick as Steven's head and claws as sharp as needles. It was probably about as big as Steven and Peedee's heights combined. Its dark eyes were staring directly at Steven and Peedee.

Peedee swallowed. His stomach felt like it had sunk seven feet underground. "No, Steven. That is _not_ a beaver."

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

* * *

Steven and Peedee all but threw themselves down the hillside. Even with their feet stumbling and their hearts pounding like timpani, they kept running as quickly as they could from the bear that was hot on their trail. It growled and snarled, weaving its way between the trees and bushes. It roared, and Steven and Peedee ran faster.

Looking ahead—which was easier said than done—Steven could see a great tree with many branches, some lower to the ground.

As he stumbled, he cried out, "Peedee! Up!"

When they were close enough, Peedee all but flung himself onto the branch. He scrambled up, followed by Steven, and they climbed through the branches as quickly as they could. The bark and twigs scratched their skin, but they couldn't care less.

Steven sighed in relief. He rested against the trunk and spoke through panting breath, "Good. We're safe up here."

Peedee was hugging the tree for dear life. He turned to Steven with shrunken pupils and flushed skin and cried, _"No, we're not! Bears can climb trees! It's how they get honey!"_

Steven tipped his head. "Honey?"

Below them, the bear growled and set his front paws against the trunk. Its sharp yellow teeth stood out against the woods that were becoming darker and darker. It climbed up a small ways, making Peedee and Steven hold their breaths, but stopped when it couldn't move any further past the branches. It crawled back down and scraped the tree almost angrily.

Steven's eyebrows knit together as he declared, "I have an idea!"

A second later, a jar of honey was thrown down to the bear. It shattered against the ground, and the bear glanced to it, alerted, but then returned its attention to the tree. It scratched it again.

"How did you track down a _bear_ instead of a _beaver_?" cried Peedee. He had wrapped his legs around the tree as well.

Steven quickly flipped through his book and turned it to Peedee. The page showed several graphite images of animal prints with the names of the animals they belonged to. Steven pointed to the five-toed one with claws.

"It says 'Beaver', see?" Steven turned it back to him. "Why would Gilbert not know th—Wait. Wait, wait. Hold on. Oh. Oh, okay. Ah. That makes sense. Yeah. The names are _above_ the prints, not _below_. Hm. Tsk."

Peedee gripped the tree tighter. Tears were lining his eyes. "We're going to die here."

"No, we're not!" The bear growled, making Steven pause, but he continued, "We'll get out of here with my survival skills!" He quickly reached into his backpack.

Peedee groaned. "What, do you have bear repellent, too?"

"No, but I can call for help!"

Peedee sat up straighter. "Yeah, yeah! I left my phone back in the tent, but you can use yours!"

"What? Oh, no. Gilbert says cellular devices scare—"

"Then what are you going to use?!"

"These!"

He held up a small plastic box bound in clear wrap. Inside, there were plastic and wooden rod-shaped things of different size and color. Peedee blinked at them while Steven tore the box open.

"Animal calls," Steven explained. With the wrap off, he picked one out and held it up with pride. "The life of the forest shall save us!"

He pressed a call to his lips.

An elephant trumpet came out.

Steven pulled his lips away and stared at the call with wide, baffled eyes. He put it down and reached for the next one, but all it made was monkey hoots and screams. The next one made the roar of a lion. Below, the bear tipped its head with one paw on the tree.

Steven flipped the box over. He sputtered, groaned, and folded his arms over his chest. "Dang it! I got the jungle pack."

Peedee blinked...and slowly placed his forehead against the trunk.

The bear roared, and Steven went tearing through his backpack. His food was no good, he didn't have any weapons, and fire repellent didn't work on bears, did it?!

"I don't have anything," he told Peedee. "We have to call for help!"

Peedee pulled away from the trunk, blinked, and climbed farther up the tree. Steven followed, fumbling around in the growing darkness, until they finally broke through the leaves.

From where they were, they could see the hills stretching on for miles. The sky had grayed, fading to the darkest shade of orange on the horizon behind them. At the bottom of a dip in the hills, they could just hardly make out the small orange glow of a campfire.

Peedee and Steven cupped their hands around their mouths and screamed as loud as their lungs could manage. _"DAD!" "HELP!" "HELP US!" "HEEEELP!"_

If anyone heard them, they couldn't tell. Nothing appeared around the campfire.

However, down in the trees, Steven noticed a flicker of movement, a glint of light.

"Here, let me try something," Steven told Peedee.

He ducked down into the leaves and reappeared just a minute later. He lifted a small pair of binoculars to his eyes and pointed them to the campfire.

Ronaldo had his phone stretched out before him, turning in small circles. He was frowning, eyebrows knit together.

"Come on..." he mumbled to himself. "Come on..."

Up in the treetop, miles away, Peedee screamed, _"HEEELP!"_

Ronaldo went still. Crickets and frogs were chirping loudly, but he could have sworn he had heard something.

He lifted his head up and called out, _"Hello?"_

Steven pressed one of the calls to his lips and blew as hard as he could.

"Oh." Ronaldo turned back to his phone. "Just a hippopotamus."

Steven lowered his binoculars and groaned. "It's not working..."

Peedee growled and quickly patted his pockets. "Maybe I didn't leave my phone...Wait..."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a familiar white pistol and a small tube of ammunition.

Peedee looked up at Steven, baffled. "Did you slip this on me?"

Steven sheepishly looked away from him. "Forest friends don't allow acquaintance to arrive—"

"Alright, alright! Here."

Peedee struggled, but he managed to finally slip the tube into the flare and click it shut. Steven put his fingers in his ears. Peedee did the same to one ear and used his other hand to hold the pistol high.

With surprisingly less force than they had expected, the flare shot out of the barrel and went up in a stream of hot red light. It blasted into red sparks some twenty feet above them, leaving only a puff of smoke behind.

Steven raised his binoculars back to his eyes. Ronaldo was looking up at the sky, following the trail left by the flare.

He gripped his phone and took off running, and as he disappeared into the trees, he cried, "PEEDEE!"

Steven smiled as relief washed over him. He turned to Peedee and said with a laugh, "He's coming for—!"

 _"Steven!"_

Steven looked down and yelped. The bear had torn off some of the weaker, thinner branches from the tree and was now making its way up. Its eyes were trained on them, lips pulled back from its teeth. Claws dug into the bark and scratched it bare.

Peedee gripped the treetop tight. He looked at the pistol in his hand, and suddenly cried, "WHY DIDN'T I JUST USE THIS ON THE BEAR?!"

The bear climbed closer to them. It swiped a branch out of its way.

Peedee waved his hand at Steven. "Get something out of your backpack! Throw it at him!"

"Okay, I—"

Steven reached for his backpack, but when he did, he pushed it off of the branch. It tumbled down the branches and landed on the forest floor far below.

Steven stared down at it. Turning back to Peedee, he murmured, "Well, now we're both at fault."

The bear growled. Steven gripped the treetop closer, as if it could shield him from…

Shield.

His shield!

"Peedee, come here!"

He wrapped his arm around Peedee before the boy could move. He squeezed his eyes shut and pushed himself as hard as he could, feeling warmth spread throughout his belly.

When he opened his eyes, everything was tinted pink. Looking around, he saw that instead of his shield, he had summoned a Bubble. It held him, Peedee, and their small section of tree inside. The bear was close enough to swipe at it with his paws.

"Okay…" Steven sighed. "We are safe. Trapped, but safe."

The boar roared loud enough to make the Bubble tremble.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Peedee.

"HEY!"

Everyone—including the bear—turned to look down at the ground.

Ronaldo glared up at the bear, his phone in his pocket and his machete in his hand. He waved it at the bear in a beckoning motion.

"Get down here," he told it, "And leave my brother and my partner in mystery alone!"

The bear snarled and slowly descended the tree. While it moved, Peedee pressed his hands to the Bubble's surface and cried, "Ronaldo, no!"

"You guys get down as fast as you can," Ronaldo said. He didn't take his eyes off the bear. "I'll distract it."

Steven and Peedee glanced at one another. Steven slowly let the Bubble drop. The bear didn't notice with its eyes on Ronaldo.

While Steven and Peedee slowly stepped down the branches, the bear lumbered towards Ronaldo. He held his ground and his glare.

"I can take you," he taunted. "I've been taking online samurai classes, and you are _outmatched!_ "

He twirled the machete in his hand, tossed it up, caught it, slashed it in an X formation, and pointed it at the bear with a shout of "Kōfuku!"

The bear threw him aside.

Ronaldo yelped as he hit the dirt some six feet away. His machete fell from his grip as he landed on his face. He groaned as he lifted himself up, smeared in dirt and bruised in several places. Part of his shirt sleeve was torn from the bear's claws.

Peedee held out a hand and cried, "Ronaldo!"

His other hand slipped, and he let out a short shout when he almost fell. He managed to catch himself on another branch, but was left dangling by his arms. Several branches above, Steven struggled to climb over to him quick enough.

The bear turned back to them and saw Peedee squirming. It turned away from Ronaldo and crawled back over. Peedee kicked and tried to pull himself back up, but it was useless. The bear latched its teeth around his sneaker, and even if it didn't hurt as much as it could have, he screamed. Steven wrapped his arms around his middle and tried to pull him up, but the bear only bit harder.

Something bright and flashing suddenly flew towards them, and with it came an utter cacophony of sound. It sounded like sirens, hard drums, and shrieking electric instruments all put together. Whatever it was, it hit the bear right in the eye, finally pulling him away from Peedee.

Ronaldo's phone fell to the ground and cracked on impact. Though the screen went black, it continued to blast sound, now including shrill screams and sharp whistles. The flashlight kept strobing. The bear pawed it, baffled, but jumped back when it suddenly let out a loud roar.

The bear turned away, reluctantly at first, but eventually crept away and out of side.

Steven held Peedee down to the ground. Ronaldo had already pulled himself to his feet and was walking towards them with Steven had climbed down.

Peedee ran up to Ronaldo and hovered his hands around him as if expecting him to drop at any moment. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Ronaldo waved him off and wiped his cheek, wincing as he did so. His cheekbone, like Peedee's knee, was scraped red and lined in dirt.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He sighed. "I've dishonored my sensei by losing to a wild beast, but I'm fine. What about you? How's your foot?"

His sneaker was a little roughed up, but at least he wasn't missing a foot. "Fine enough." He sighed. "Why didn't you call for help if you had your phone? You tried to take on a bear all by yourself!"

"I wasn't going to wait who knows how long for help when you guys needed me right away," he told Peedee. He rolled his shoulders back. "Anyway, I shouldn't have let you guys go all the way out here by yourselves. Dad told us to stick together."

"Ronaldo, you just took on a _bear,"_ Peedee told him. He smiled. "Pat yourself on the back!"

Ronaldo tried to, but winced in pain and decided against it.

"Hey, Ronaldo?" Steven held out the phone to Ronaldo. It had stopped flashing, and the sound had drowned out. The screen was splintered into pieces. "Here's your phone. Sorry."

Ronaldo took it and flipped it side-to-side. He sighed, but was not nearly as upset as Steven predicted. "Welp. I'll just have to retype everything. I've got good memory." He waved his phone and winked at the boys. "I knew Party Pat's Insane Disco Mix Number 9 would come in handy one day. And hey, after this whole experience, I have new evidence for my Mad Bear Disease theory. You guys can help."

Peedee smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

Steven, who had walked away for just a second to pick up his cheeseburger backpack, returned to them. He held his book in his hand, which had fallen at some point in the scuffle and was torn and muddied. "Steven the survival specialist has turned in the towel. Sorry, Gilbert." He tossed the book over his shoulder. "But how about you guys try to race again in the morning?"

Peedee, however, shook his head, eyes wide. "I never want to go out in these woods again."

"Same." Ronaldo whipped his head left and right and stuffed his phone into his pocket. "We should go back to the campsite and pack everything up. Dad's all alone. We have to get him."

Something howled in the distance, turning them all to statues.

Ronaldo waved his arms at the boys, and as they dashed through the trees, he called, "Run, run, run!"


	23. The Families

_Br-r-r-r-r-ing!_

 _Br-r-r-r-r-r-ing!_

Connie put a bookmark into the pages of her book and dashed to the kitchen, calling out, "I'll get it!"

She pulled the phone to her ear mid-ring and answered, "Maheswaran residence."

 _"Universe, Steven calling."_

At Steven's voice, Connie paused. She was happy to hear him, as always, but she couldn't quite tell if he was upset or not. She didn't want to jump to assume he was happy and suffer through another "Lazuli episode."

"Hey, what's up?"

 _"I was wondering if mayhaps you were interested in joining me for a trip to the Big Donut. Now, I'm aware that you have been told to avoid donuts for health reasons,_ but _, the BD is debuting what they call 'Health Dough'. It's glucose, fructose, and a lot of other -ose things free, and comes in vegetable flavors. It doesn't look that appetizing, to be honest, since it's pretty thin and doesn't have a hole in it and it's either faintly green or muddy orange, buuuuuut I thought you'd be interested."_

"Sorry, Steven, I can't."

 _"Eh, I don't blame you. I got some for Opal since she likes weird food, and she took a bite and went out for a walk because she said she felt sad."_

"No, no, it's not...Okay, to be honest, I'm not interested, but that's not the thing." Connie leaned back to peer down the hallway. Neither Doctor nor Officer Maheswaran could be seen, but she could hear distant typing. "My parents are home today and we all have to do something later, so I can't go anywhere. That, and...Well...I'll have to tell you later."

 _"Oh. Okay. So...should I leave?"_

Connie frowned. "What?"

 _"Should I leave?"_ he repeated.

Connie slowly set the phone down on the counter. She went to the nearest window and pulled the curtains apart.

Out on the street, a familiar boy and a giant pink lion stood on the sidewalk. The lion was sitting down with its tail flicking lazily. Steven was looking at his phone, but his eyes slowly rose to the house until he spotted her through the window. He smiled and waved.

Connie blanched and lunged for the phone. _"Stay right there!"_

She tried to slam the phone back onto its place, but it kept slipping. She groaned and left it dangling by the cord.

She grabbed her shoes and as she pulled them on, she called out, "I'm going to get some Vitamin D!"

"Don't get too much," her mother called back.

Connie ran through the door, down the steps, and to Steven. He frowned when he finally realized that something was wrong, but didn't have time to ask before Connie was pushing him and shouting, "Go, go, go!" Steven obeyed, while Lion took his sweet time standing to his feet and moseying after them.

Connie didn't stop pushing Steven until they were well out of the sight of the Maheswaran household. Lion sank down next to them and started licking at his paw.

"I would ask if everything is okay," Steven said, "but I get the feeling that everything is not okay."

Connie sighed and ran a hand through her dark hair. Behind her lens-less glasses, she closed her eyes. "Steven, here's the thing...I can't hang out with you right now."

Steven glanced back to the house. "Yeah, you said that."

"No, I mean, I can't hang out with you _anymore_...for right now."

Steven's wide eyes blinked at her. He sank down to his knees and clasped a hand over his heart, all while Connie stared, baffled.

Steven whispered, "Whatever I did to cause this...Tell me, and I will fix it." His eyes glimmered, and some flower petals from a nearby bush breezed by, right on cue _. "I promise."_

"You didn't do anything." Connie pulled Steven to his feet. "I told my parents that I was hanging out with you, and they asked if they knew you, and I said 'no', and they asked me what you looked like, and I told them, and they said 'Wait, do you mean the boy from the dinner party?', and I said 'yeah', and now I'm not allowed to hang out with you because they're worried that you may be involved in violent activities."

"Hey," countered Steven, "If protecting the planet was a picnic, we'd all be eating sandwiches right now."

"I tried to tell her that." Connie paused. "Well...kind of. I told her that it was your _family_ who were doing the 'active work against possibly dangerous forces', and not you, but they weren't having it."

Steven paused. "But...I _am_ involved."

"I know! But I was just saying, y'know? So we're not allowed to hang out, at least not until my parents meet the Gems again. And your dad, too."

Steven's face split into a starry grin.

 _"Steven."_

The grin fell. "What?"

"I like the Gems a lot. I really do, but I don't think they can handle a dinner with my parents. It has to be a calm, collected meal. They can't break things, they can't fight anything, they can't use their powers..."

"That's not all that they do." His head tipped to the side. "It's really not that big of a deal. What's the problem?"

"I..." Connie sighed again. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she murmured, "Listen...We'll just have to talk about this later, okay? We're going on this fancy yacht ride with my mom's work friends tonight. Just...Go home, alright?"

"Connie..."

She turned on her heel and trudged back down the sidewalk. She didn't look back at Steven, even as he called out, "How are we supposed to talk later if I can't see you anymore?!"

* * *

Greg rubbed down the rest of the tire rim and gave it a final blast of the hose. Once he could see his reflection, perfect and bright, he stood to his feet and waved at the driver of the car. They waved back, and Greg stepped away as they drove back out onto the street.

He picked up the bucket of soapy water and tossed the sponge inside. He rounded the building in the direction of his van, but paused when he saw a pink figure approaching from the street. His eyes narrowed at it.

"Wh—Oh!" He set the bucket down and waved. "Hey, Steven!"

But as Lion came closer, he saw that while Steven sat atop him, his face was pressed into Lion's mane. When Lion sat down on the concrete, Steven slowly slid off and landed on his back. He didn't make a sound.

Greg frowned down at his son as he stared blankly up at the sky. "Um...Hi?"

"Hello, Father."

Greg glanced up, left, right, back to Steven. "Something wrong, bud?"

Steven slowly nodded. Lion's tail flicked across his face.

The corner of Greg's mouth twisted sympathetically. He stepped over to the van as he asked, "You want to talk about it?"

Steven sat up and sighed, "Not yet. I need more thinking time."

Greg nodded. "I got you, bud. But!" His grabbed the handles of the van doors and beamed down at Steven. "Do you want to hear some good news?"

Steven raised his head a bit. "What?"

"You're old man's got a gig!"

Steven stood straight up with a gasp. With glimmering eyes, he exclaimed, "You haven't got a gig in years!"

Greg's smile became a bit more forced. "Yes...! That's true. Heh. Anyway!" He pulled the van doors open and went digging inside. A moment later, he pulled out a black bow tie with a small clip attached to the back. "It's a fancy gig, too! We're talking _serious biz_."

Steven nodded enthusiastically. "Details, man, give me details!"

"Well, the other day, I was at the store to pick up more cleaning supplies when I ran into this guy with a tie—"

* * *

15 UNNECESSARILY LONG MINUTES LATER

* * *

—and I told the police officer, 'Sir, I was not a member of the ice cream thieves, but I can tell you what direction they went in.' So that's when the officer—"

"Hey, Dad, I'm not trying to be rude, but I'm kind of lost."

"Oh." Greg waved a hand and mumbled, "Well, nevermind. Basically, the officer said that he and his wife would be going on this fancy yacht ride with their work buddies and their guitarist bailed out on them. So, I told him I used to be a pretty top-notch guitar master myself, and boom! I've got the gig. It's later tonight."

Steven stared at him, eyes wide.

He smiled. "Well, good for you! But hey, you have another car coming in, so I'm going to go ahead and head back to the Temple. Gotta get my thinking time in."

"Alright. And hey, if you want to come with me, you can. Officer said I could bring a guest."

"Alright! See you later!"

Steven waved at him as he hopped on Lion's back. Lion roared, a bright portal appeared, and they vanished inside.

Greg rummaged around in his van a bit more before finally shutting it. A SUV was pulled up to the wash, and he waved to the driver as he stepped forward—

—and nearly jumped out of his skin when a light flashed and Lion almost charged him down.

Steven all but threw himself off of Lion's back, landing face-down on the cement. "My thinking process is so slow!" He ran to Greg with his arms waving and his eyes wide. "Dad, Dad!"

"What, what?!"

"This has to do with my problem!" When Greg said nothing, Steven explained, "Connie's parents won't let me see her until they meet you and the Gems again. They think we're a violent family."

Greg gave a short laugh. "Me? Against flies, maybe."

"Yeah. _But_ the yacht ride you're going to is the same one Connie's parents are going to tonight! You can talk to them there, and we'll change their minds about us!"

"Oh! Okay then." Greg ruffled Steven's mop of hair and chuckled. "Guess that just works out dandy, doesn't it?" He paused. "But what about the Crystal Gems?"

Steven put a finger to his chin and pondered…

* * *

Connie smoothed out the long, cream-colored skirt of her dress. A few people were still treading up the ramp to the deck. She recognized a few of them, and occasionally smiled and waved, but otherwise hung her head down to the water.

She heard footsteps approaching, but only turned around when a hand landed on her shoulder. Doctor Priyanka Maheswaran looked down at her with a brow raised. She was dressed in a forest green pantsuit with her graying brown hair brushed neatly around her shoulders. Her high heels _clacked-clacked-clacked_ against the deck.

"I hope you're not planning on spending the whole night staring wistfully down at the water," she told Connie. She couldn't tell if she was joking or not, as usual.

"No." Connie mumbled, "Just for a little while…"

Priyanka frowned and leaned closer to her daughter. Under her breath, she said, "Something's wrong. What is it?"

Connie pursed her lips. "I…I…"

"Use your words."

She would have, if her father hadn't walked up at that moment.

Officer Doug Maheswaran stepped past his wife and daughter to the edge of the ramp. His dark hair was combed straight, although his jaw was covered in uneven stubble. In a white button-up and dress pants, he looked like he was headed to a business meeting rather than a party.

He straightened the tie around his neck as he smiled and called, "Good evening, Mister Universe."

Connie turned to the ramp. Sure enough, Greg was walking up towards them. He was wearing a gray blazer, but also Bermuda shorts and beat-up sandals. He pulled at his clip-on bow tie as his thigh-length hair billowed in the gusting wind.

"Greg?!" Connie exclaimed before she could stop herself.

Priyanka frowned down at her daughter. "Don't scream people's names, it's rude. Also, how do you know him?"

"Oh, hey, Connie." Greg smiled at her as he approached, then turned to Doug. He held a hand out to him. "Hello, Officer...Offi..."

Greg trailed off as he looked between the three Maheswarans. Connie stared back at him in utter confusion. Finally, Greg chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Man, I can't believe I didn't put two and two together. I didn't realize you were Connie's father. What are the odds?"

Priyanka cleared her throat impatiently.

Connie took a deep breath and gestured to Greg. "This is Steven's father, Greg."

Priyanka's eyebrows rose, but more with interest than shock. "Oh."

Doug hummed and noted, "Those _are_ some crazy odds, huh? Well, regardless, this is the guitarist I told you about, Priyanka. He's a professional, as it turns out."

Greg let out a flattered chuckle. "That may be a...Well...Hey, thanks for letting me come."

"You _did_ help the force with a very important case." Doug scowled down at his feet. "We haven't found the Cream Snatchers yet, but we're so close..." He curled a fist. "I can practically _smell_ them...But anyway! This is a perfect opportunity for us to learn more about each other. I know your son and my daughter are close friends."

He intentionally left out the details, but nevertheless, Greg smiled. "Of course! Speaking of which...Hey, Steven! You coming?"

Connie's head turned fast enough to give her whiplash. Steven was also walking up the ramp, dressed in his usual T-shirt and jeans with the addition of a small bow tie. He was carrying Greg's guitar case with ease.

When he finally came to the deck, he set the guitar case down and smiled warmly at everyone. "Good eve, Maheswarans."

"Oh." Priyanka's brows rose again. "You're Steven."

Connie shut her hanging jaw close. A shock of panic ran up her spine.

"Indeed." Steven shook hands with Doug as he added, "Steven Universe. It's nice to meet you."

Priyanka frowned, taken aback. "Is Universe your actual surname?"

Steven paused. "Yes, ma'am…If 'surname' means what I think it means."

He held a hand out to Priyanka, who shook it politely. Connie could tell that her wariness of the boy was slightly waning at his sincerity. It didn't stop the roiling in Connie's stomach at all.

"Well," Doug said, "I guess this is a bonus with a bonus, huh? You wouldn't mind joining us while your father is playing, would you, Steven?"

"Absolutely not! I'd be honored to join you."

Connie pursed her lips. He was doing well so far...Maybe Steven could actually convince them.

Priyanka crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, it's nice to have you both here. Shame that we couldn't get your other family make it. It would have been nice to have the Universes and Maheswarans all together."

"Well," Steven said with a knowing smirk, "Funny thing..."

Opal stepped up behind him. "Hell-o!"

Connie choked.

Priyanka and Doug blinked up at the seven-foot-plus-tall, lavender-skinned woman. She kept smiling down at them with her arms folded behind her back; oblivious to the stares that passerby gave her. Greg glanced between them, while Steven innocently watched the Maheswarans. Connie's stomach continued flipping.

"Oh," Priyanka said for the third time. "Hello."

"Um..." Doug held a hand out to Opal. "You're one of Steven's caretakers, yes?"

Opal unfolded her arms and extended one out to Doug. He let out a quiet "oh" at the sight of her extra arms, but shook her hand regardless. Connie glanced at Steven, but he didn't notice.

"Yes, I am. My name is Opal." Opal gave them a warm smile. That smile morphed into an impatient scowl as she barked out, "Sapphire! Ruby! Hurry up and meet Connie's parents!"

The two other Crystal Gems zipped up the ramp to Opal's side. Ruby put her fists on her hips while Sapphire kept her hands clasped at her chest. They, too, caught passing glances.

"Hello. I am Ruby." "Sapphire."

They both extended hands to the Maheswarans, while Opal held out one to Connie. Everyone shook hands, which brought a brief confusion with eighteen arms moving about—at one point, Greg and Steven shook hands and Doug shook hands with himself.

Finally, Priyanka pulled herself back and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Well. I can't say I expected to see you all here tonight, but we might as well enjoy each other's company."

The yacht's horn blasted, causing a few of them to jump and Ruby to go into a battle stance.

"We're about to head out," Doug noted. A few people were heading over to lift the ramp up. "Dinner will be served on the deck soon. Let me show you your place, Mr. Universe."

Greg said a simple "Thank you" and picked up his guitar case. As he, Doug, and Priyanka walked down the deck, Connie called over her shoulder, "I'll be there in a second!"

She turned to Steven and grabbed him by the shoulders. The Crystal Gems all raised a brow, but Steven was unfazed. "Steven! What are you doing here?!"

"We're here to meet your parents! Now they can see that there's nothing they need to worry about. And here, the Gems already know what to do!"

"No breaking anything," Ruby recited.

"No fighting anything," Opal recited.

"No using our powers," Sapphire droned.

Steven chimed in, "And we have to get along!"

Ruby put her hands on her hips with a confident nod. "And I can totally do that!"

Sapphire murmured, " _We._ "

Ruby cracked open an eye to give Sapphire a sideways scowl. "Don't start."

Opal shushed them.

Steven turned to Connie with a bright smile. "See? Now, we're not going to lie or anything, but we'll keep all the magical, violent details to ourselves. Don't want to give 'em heart attacks before dessert, amiright?"

Connie took a deep breath. Her hands on his shoulders curled. "Steven, I have faith in you. But our entire friendship relies on this dinner. Can you handle it?"

He and the Crystal Gems saluted her with confidence. Opal, with her extra right arm, accidentally hit her eye. "Ow!"

* * *

Dinner took place at the front deck. It was plenty big enough for three long tables to be set up together, side-by-side, chairs included. The Crystal Gems caught a few stares at first, but the other guests accepted them soon enough. Everyone spent a few minutes shaking hands with one another (the Crystal Gems were visibly awkward with all the human interaction, but continued regardless), and Connie glanced over at Steven every other minute. He was doing well, judging by the laughs and grins he was receiving.

Finally, everyone took their seats at the tables. The Maheswarans sat on one side, the Universes and Crystal Gems at the other. It would be a minute until Greg was needed.

"So," Priyanka began, "Now that we're all here, why don't we learn more about ourselves?"

Connie swallowed and picked at the white tablecloth. This was the moment she was anticipating. The Crystal Gem sat straight.

Doug turned to Opal, who was sitting quite snugly in her chair. "So, Miss Opal, you are Steven's mother, yes?"

"What?" Opal shook her head vigorously. Greg chuckled. "No, no, no, no, no! _No_." Greg frowned, but Opal kept smiling.

When Ruby snickered under her breath, Opal nudged her with her elbow. Ruby huffed.

Doug hummed. "My apologies, I just assumed." He looked over to Sapphire and Ruby, who, like Steven, were only visible from the chest up. "You two seem a bit young to be his mother, is all."

Sapphire said nothing, but Ruby snorted. "You kidding me?" She jabbed her thumbs at either Gem beside her. "I'm older than either of these guys."

"Oh! I wouldn't have guessed. My bad."

Sapphire chose that moment to take a drink of water. Ruby scowled at her knowingly.

Connie let out a shaky breath.

Priyanka asked, "So the three of you are Steven's...aunts?"

Greg spoke up, "These guys aren't related to Steven. They were friends of his mother's. They take care of him now."

"So," Steven said, "They're _kind of_ like my moms. Cool Mom, Fire Mom, and Tall Mom."

The Maheswarans nodded, understanding, and Ruby and Opal grinned with pride. Steven sent Connie a thumbs-up. She sent a small smile back. Okay, this was fine.

Doug asked, "So what jobs do you guys have? How do you keep bread on the table?"

Ruby and Opal both opened their mouths to answer, but Greg interrupted, "I'm the only one with a job. I own the car wash in town."

Priyanka raised a brow, both impressed and confused. "It must be a healthy business if you can afford paying for five people."

Greg shrugged. "It's not that hard to make ends meet." He ruffled Steven's hair. "Though if this guy wanted to get a job, I wouldn't say no."

"Dad, I—" Steven was about to correct him—protecting the planet _was_ a job, one that didn't pay—but stopped himself.

The Maheswarans chuckled at Greg's ribbing. Connie finally relaxed her shoulders. Greg might have been able to pull this night through!

Aaaaand of course, right at that moment, the saxophonist for the evening came to Greg's side and told him, "We're ready for you now."

Greg stood to his feet and nodded at everyone, sending one last look at Steven. As he walked away, Connie felt her comfort go with him. Now the Maheswarans had their eyes on the Crystal Gems.

From inside the yacht, men and women with trays in their hands and aprons around their waists came out to the tables. They set dishes down for the people, starting at the table farthest from the Maheswarans and the Gems. Greg and the other instrumentalists played a relaxing tune, with Greg plucking at the strings of an acoustic guitar.

While they waited, Steven lightly nudged Sapphire's side. She in turn pushed her elbow into Ruby's side.

Ruby fidgeted, but eventually put on a smile and asked, "So what jobs do you guys have?"

Doug gestured to himself. "Police officer." He gestured to Priyanka. "Doctor." He paused and gestured to Connie. "Unemployed."

Ruby nodded slowly. "Ah, yes. Police officeeeeer..." She continued to smile, but the eyes that trailed to Steven were filled with confusion.

"Yep," Steven chirped. "That must be hard, huh? Being an official of the state who brings those who break the law under custody?"

Ruby gave the tiniest of understanding nods.

Doug, meanwhile, shrugged. "It's nothing that I can't handle, but it can be unruly sometimes." Shadows flashed over his face. " _Like the Cream Snatchers_." He sat up straight. "But! From what Connie tells me, you three do something even more dangerous."

Connie and Steven shared an uneasy glance, but Opal replied, "What do you mean?"

"Animal control, of course."

The Crystal Gems paused. Steven looked to Connie, eyebrows furrowed. She shrugged and mouthed, 'What?'

Doug continued, "Before, we were confused. We saw what you guys did at the dinner party all that time ago, and we thought that you and Steven were involved in highly dangerous activities. But, Connie eventually explained that you simply work in the animal control department. We didn't get to get a good look at the things that attacked the party—what were they?"

Silence fell on the table, while the band continued to play at the front of the deck. Ruby and Opal were visibly squirming and glancing over to Steven to speak up, while Steven himself was trying to wrap his mind around the situation. Where did the 'animal control' come from?

He opened his mouth—he didn't want to lie, but what other choice did he have?—when Sapphire finally spoke, "Someone's pet iguanas escaped and came to the party."

"Oh!" Doug nodded. "That explains why they were so colorful. Huh. Glad you got it taken care of."

The dishes finally came to their table, but Steven was so caught in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice. He kept glancing at Connie, who had her head ducked, refusing to meet his eyes. How were they supposed to leave a good impression on the Maheswarans when they weren't telling them the truth? What if they found out that they were lying later?

The plates were set down before them. Each plate held a filet of fish seasoned with pepper and lemon juice, a fluffy, butter-glazed roll, and a small bowl of shrimp swimming in gold broth. It smelled heavenly.

Everyone reached for their forks, and the clinking and tinkling of silverware filled the table with the band's music. Steven looked up at everyone. Ruby set the roll aside, but happily crushed a lemon over the filet, while Sapphire lightly nibbled at her roll. Doctor and Officer Maheswaran were cutting their food almost surgically. Connie more or less pushed hers around her plate and still refused to meet Steven's eyes.

At the end of the table, Opal pursed her lips at her plate. She picked the bowl of shrimp off and passed the plate to Ruby, who passed it to Sapphire, who passed it to Steven.

As she lifted a bite of filet to her mouth, Priyanka raised a brow and asked, "Not very hungry, Miss Opal?"

Opal shrugged. "Not really. Although..." She looked down the table. "Is there any marshmallow cream?"

Priyanka leaned forward and looked down the table with her. "No, I don't think they set any out. I'll ask for..." She trailed off as she looked at the bowl on her plate. "This is shrimp scampi."

Opal nodded. "Yes. Have you ever had shrimp with marshmallow cream?"

"...No." Priyanka paused. "Is it good?"

Opal made unsure gestures with her hands. "It's interesting. Which is why it's good. You should try it sometime, Miss Patricia."

"Priyanka."

"That's what I said."

Priyanka didn't nod or hum, just tapped on a nearby waiter's shoulder and asked, "Can we get some marshmallow cream down here?"

Steven leaned back and looked to Greg. At the front of the deck, he was standing in the middle of the band, eyes closed as his fingers smoothly went from chord to chord. As if he knew that Steven was looking, Greg opened his eyes and winked at his son. Steven sent him a smile and leaned back to the table.

Steven reached for his glass of water and paused. It was only a little cool, with no ice in it. He looked down the table, but couldn't find a pitcher.

He saw one of the waiters approaching their table, and opened his mouth to call for them. But before he could speak, Sapphire reached over and tapped his shoulder. She took his glass in her hand and held it until it went cloudy.

Steven whispered a 'thank you' and took a hearty gulp. Connie looked to her parents, her legs shaking underneath the table, but they hadn't noticed.

Another waiter came to the table and called out, "Is everyone doing good? Everything to your liking?"

There was a chorus of "Yes, sir", "Mm-hm!", a "All good" and a "Hm."

The waiter smiled. "Good." The smile turned apologetic as he continued, "But I'm afraid that dessert may take a while longer. We had more people this evening than expected."

Everyone nodded and murmured in understanding. The waiter walked to Opal's side, handed her a small bowl of marshmallow cream. Opal smiled in delight.

As the waiter left, Steven frowned and said, "Sorry, I forgot that we brought extra guests."

Doug waved a hand at him. "Don't worry about it. It worked out for the better."

Connie reached for her glass and took a deep swallow of water. Her nerves were starting to relax.

"It did," Opal agreed as she dipped a shrimp into her marshmallow cream. Chuckling, she mused, "It's actually a good thing the three of us didn't fuse, huh? Imagine what a disaster that would have been."

Connie's eyes went wide behind her frames, but she kept drinking her water. Some drops went down her chin.

Priyanka and Doug's eyes narrowed, and they glanced to one another. Priyanka slowly spoke, "'Fuse'...? What do you mean?"

The smile on Opal's face dropped. Her eyes went down the table, and sure enough, all eyes were on her. Steven was wide-eyed but conflicted-looking, Ruby was just barely shaking her head, and Sapphire was probably glaring at her underneath her bangs.

The Maheswarans were still watching her. Opal swallowed and chuckled. A bead of sweat ran down her temple.

"That is, it's a good thing we...It's just a thing that we...I mean, it's just, there wouldn't be any room for us on the boat and—"

Sapphire spoke up again. "It's slang for 'leaving'. We were planning on going out on a trip on the road this evening."

The Maheswarans once again nodded, but it was slower this time. They had obviously never heard of this slang word, but they didn't question it.

Opal laughed a bit too loudly. "Yes! Yes. We were going to leave for a...movie! Out of town, and...uh...Well, just the fo—Uh, three of us in a car for all that time, just...Whew!" She wiped the sweat from her brow. "That would be a problem!"

When no one laughed, she shoved a shrimp into her mouth.

Ruby clicked her tongue. "We're not _that_ bad together."

Sapphire hummed.

Ruby turned to her, eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sapphire tipped her head at her, as if she surely had no idea what Ruby was talking about.

Ruby's eyes narrowed to slits. _"Yoooooooou..."_

Connie gulped down the rest of her water and slammed the glass on the table, making everyone jump. "CAN A GIRL GET SOME MORE H2O, PLEASE?!"

After a few more minutes of sitting, everyone agreed that it would be nicer to stretch their legs instead of waiting for dessert to come out. Everyone began spreading out, walking down the deck or inside the yacht. Doug found one of his work friends and walked after him. Priyanka invited everyone to the other deck for a game of shuffleboard, and the Crystal Gems followed.

Steven turned to Connie, but she was hurriedly following her mother. He huffed.

The band seemed to be taking a break, as the instrumentalists were walking away from the "stage", which Greg was fiddling with his guitar. Steven walked over to him.

Greg gave him a hopeful smile when he came to him. "Hey, champ. How's it going?"

Steven ran his tongue over his teeth. "Hey, Dad, can I ask you something?"

Greg winced. "Not good, then?"

"What do you do when you _really_ care about someone, but the two of you can't find an agreement on something, and you can't get to talking about it?"

Greg strummed a few chords. Steven could see the thought in his eyes, and perhaps a bit of nostalgia.

"Well," he said, "You _have_ to talk about it. It may not go as smoothly as you want, but it's better than just letting the situation get worse."

Steven paused. "I guess you're right."

Greg nudged him with the end of the guitar. "Sure I am. Can't be the world's number one dad without a reason, right?"

Steven rolled his eyes, but smiled. "You give a man _one_ 'World's Number One Dad' mug and you never hear the end of it."

"Let me bask in my victory. Hey, why don't you go catch up to Connie why you can? I'm gonna fiddle around with this some more."

Steven walked to the deck, his thoughts swarming. How were things going to work out? He had to admit, Connie wasn't the only one lying. He _was_ involved in the things the Crystal Gems did, albeit not as much as them. Connie wasn't really involved, but he definitely was. And the Maheswarans would inevitably discover the truth. There was no escaping the fact.

Once at the deck, Steven looked out at the Crystal Gems. Would they spill their secret at any moment?

Opal was playing shuffleboard with a few other people. With her longer arms, she was easily winning, not that anyone could say anything. Opal paused, and her arm was just beginning to glow into a shapeshift, but she caught herself before she did. The others noticed, but said nothing, probably playing off as a trick of the light.

Steven looked at Ruby, at a small table at the edge of the deck. The table had a delicate, glimmering ice sculpture of a swan, as well as trays of oysters. Ruby was struggling to open an oyster, which was really saying something, considering how easily she could crush a rock. Heat was rolling off of her, but she finally opened the oyster shell...To see that it was empty. Heat flashed off of her as she chucked the empty shells into a trash bin.

A second later, something fell down in front of her, making her jump. She hadn't realized that her heat was coming to the swan sculpture. Its head lay wet and melting at her feet while water ran down the rest of its body. Ruby quickly picked the head up and tried to reattach it, to no avail. She heard footsteps coming and, in a fit of panic, shoved the rest of the sculpture off of the table. It sailed over the railing and hit the seawater with a distant splash.

The footsteps turned out to be Sapphire, and she walked over the puddles of water, unintentionally freezing them into slush. She walked away before she saw the waiter coming, and only turned when he yelped and went falling to the floor.

This triggered banter between Ruby and Sapphire, which went as they usually did: with Ruby quickly emitting steam and Sapphire remaining cool part for the frost at her skirt hem. Opal dropped her stick and stepped over to pull them apart before they could get too into it.

Steven sighed. A breeze passed over the deck, tickling his belly. He jumped when he realized it, and looked down to see that his shirt hem had ridden up just enough for his Gem to peek out from it. He tugged it down before anyone noticed. Not that the others were covering their Gems, but...

He finally found Connie on the deck. She was watching the Crystal Gems like he was, and with their every movement, she would blanch and turn to see if her parents had noticed. They had yet to, yet she was still shaking like a Chihuahua.

Steven walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. With her eyes on him, he said, "We need to talk."

Connie glanced over the deck and hissed from the corner of her mouth, "Not now."

"Yes, now."

Connie looked him up and down. He wasn't leaving any time soon.

She sighed, but waved for him to follow her. They walked off of the deck to the lower one, where no one else was. They still whispered below the distant chatter and guitar twanging.

"What?" Connie asked.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked back. His hands waved around in gestures as he continued, "I don't get it. How am I supposed to impress your parents if we lie to them?"

Connie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Steven, we went over this. My parents will flip if they learn all the dangerous things you do!"

"Well, they're going to find out eventually! It's not like I can hide this—" He lifted up his shirt to show her his Gem. "—forever!"

Connie pulled the hem of his shirt back down and looked around, as if someone would have seen. "Steven, do you want us to be friends, or not?"

Steven gaped at her. She pursed her lips, but said nothing. Almost on cue, a few people on the deck gasped at some conversation.

"Of _course_ I want to be friends with you! That's why I came here, so that we could keep being friends! Then you decided to start lying, but I don't want to do that!"

"What _do_ you want?"

"I want to tell them the truth!"

"You _can't_."

"Why not?!"

"Because—I—You—" She dug her fingers into her hair and took in a deep, low breath. "You know what? It would have been better if you hadn't come."

Steven pursed his lips, trying to ignore how much that stung. He was hardly the one to get angry, but he couldn't deny that anger, as well as confusion and maybe heartbreak, were boiling inside of him. It didn't help that someone at the shuffleboard game had made a bad move, and several voices went "oooh" behind him.

"Well then," he said, his voice clipped. His hands curled and uncurled. "I guess I'll just go."

Connie rolled her eyes. "What, are you going to swim back to Beach City?"

Steven looked to a small box pressed against the wall beside him. He walked over, pulled it open with a loud creak, and fished out what he was looking for: a rubbery orange square with a string attached to it.

He waved it at Connie, who just stared at it with confusion.

"No, I'm going to _paddle_ back." He looked at the square. "This doesn't have...paddles...raft back. Boat back. I don't care! I'm leaving!"

Connie groaned. "Steven, you can't leave."

"Why not?"

"Because if you do, then _I'm_ going to have to explain to everyone why you left!"

"Well, then, why don't you just come with me?!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

 _"Fine!"_

 _"That sounds delightful!"_

* * *

Twenty minutes later saw them on the open water, sitting on opposite sides of the small orange raft. They bobbed and swayed with the waves, but kept their arms crossed and their faces drawn in scowls. The air was cool and the stars shone down on them. With each minute, the yacht drifted farther and farther away from them. They didn't say anything about it.

But...Steven turned. His eyes first went to Connie, who averted her gaze from him, then to the yacht.

Greg was still on it, as were the other Crystal Gems. He hadn't thought this through...What was he going to do when he got back to Beach City? Was he going to the Temple and try to call the yacht? He was definitely going to get in trouble for this...Greg may have been looking for him right at that moment, trying to figure out where his son had gone and why no one else had seen him.

The Crystal Gems...He'd left them alone, too. They were probably freaking out with Greg, trying to find out where Steven had gone, why he had left.

Flicking his gaze over to Connie, Steven guessed that she was thinking the same thing. Her eyes were trained on the yacht, but they were wide, not scowling. Steven knew how worrisome her parents were. Were they freaking out, too? Were they trying to find her?

More minutes passed, and the yacht pulled further away. Steven and Connie said nothing.

Another thought came to Steven. They had no oars or paddles, and were relying on the waves to carry them back to shore. But what if they didn't? What if they caught a current, or went into a cove of rocks? They didn't have any supplies either, no flares or even life jackets.

Connie turned her head, looking out at the water. They stretched for miles and miles, and even with the yacht more than two miles away, it was closer than Beach City was. The openness and silence was...unnerving.

Steven slumped back against the side of the raft.

Why hadn't they just done it right from the beginning? Steven and Connie should have just talked it out, been honest...They had made their own problem.

A gush of air left him. "I'm sorry."

Connie replied so quickly the words practically burst from her mouth. "I'm sorry, too!"

"I wasn't trying to make things complicated," Steven told her. He drew his knees to his chest. "I was trying to make them _less_ complicated! I just wanted things to go right, but I wasn't thinking it through..."

"Neither was I!" Connie hid her face in her hands. "I was so worried that they would freak out that I was just making things worse. Of course they would have found out eventually...I just kept lying and lying, I couldn't help myself..."

"Listen..." Steven turned to her, and she looked up at him with a heavy gaze. "When we see our families again, we should just be honest. I'd rather us not see each other and be sad than us not see each other and be angry."

"Okay." Connie nodded. "Okay, yeah. Sorry."

"Sorry."

Connie gave him a small smile, and he returned it.

Then both of their smiles vanished.

"Now what?" asked Connie.

Steven looked around them. The yacht was still moving away, but Beach City didn't seem any closer. The waves continued to sway them, but in what direction, he couldn't tell.

"Okay, uh...We have no oars, no paddles, no life jackets, no emergency supplies, and no adults."

Connie blinked. "What _do_ we have?"

Steven shrugged. "Each other."

A smile crept onto Connie's face, and she placed a hand over her heart. Blush dusted her cheeks. "Aw, that's—"

"So this is what we're going to do."

Steven crawled past her to her side of the raft. He leaned over with his belly pressed to the edge and dipped his arms into the cool seawater. He kicked his legs behind him.

"I'm going to paddle with my arms, I just need you to hold my legs." Steven started paddling, sending drops of water into the air. "This will probably take four hours—maybe six, if I get tired—but it's all I got."

Connie wrapped her arms around his legs. "Ok." However, as she glanced up to the yacht, she paused. "What's that?"

Steven stopped paddling and followed her gaze. The yacht, a beacon of light in the otherwise dark night, was still far, far out of their reach. However, Steven could tell that... _something_ was happening on it. From what he guessed was the deck, bright, colorless light was flickering. A flashlight? A search light?

The light moved, and Steven saw it was neither. Instead, it appeared to be a glow emitting from a bright but formless figure, moving across the deck.

Steven and Connie both narrowed their eyes.

"What on earth...?" Connie whispered.

Whatever the thing was, it sailed over the edge of the deck. They couldn't see or hear the splash, but the light was swallowed up by the water.

Steven leaned back into the raft. "Where did it go?"

Connie's hand grabbed a hold of his arm. "Steven, look!"

He followed her pointing figure. Whatever the light was, it was still moving under the water. Its glow was warped and muted underneath the surface, but it was bright enough for Steven to know that it was moving. To _them_.

Steven crawled back from the edge of the raft, and Connie followed, as if they could run from it. The muted light swam closer, and they could see that the water above it was churning. They may have heard a drowned-out whistling, but weren't sure.

It came closer and closer...and disappeared right before it came to the raft. The only thing it left behind was a slight push on the raft that made Connie and Steven teeter.

Connie held Steven close, her breath quiet. "What was that?"

Steven squeezed her back. "A shark, I guess?"

"Well, that was one shiny flippin' shark. And what was it doing on the deck?!"

Steven swallowed. "I don't—"

The raft moved upwards in the air, and they yelped. They could hear water dripping from the raft's bottom as they rose higher and higher into the air. Odd, solid shapes appeared at the edges of the raft. They held each other closer still, but whatever was lifting them was keeping them perfectly balanced...not that it calmed their nerves.

Steven couldn't tell how high they were when they stopped, but he knew that there was _no way_ they were going to jump off of into the water. The wind was harder up there, the air cooler.

The raft began to move back down, and as Steven whipped his head left to right, he realized that they were being held by a giant _hand_. The shapes around them were actually _fingers_. Connie was shaking, and he gripped her tighter.

The lower they moved, something else came into sight. It looked like a bright blue mass of soft, dry thread that stuck up wildly...Hair? Was it hair?

Magenta skin. A sleek, dark lens embedded above an aquiline nose. Full lips. Great, wide sleeves from a teal, star-shaped collar. Six gargantuan arms on the upper torso, all gloved, two of them holding the raft. Below that, and below the raft, a pair of legs stood shin-deep in the seawater.

But more importantly, four Gems, in the forehead, chest, and matching palms, in colors of purple and blue and green.

The fusion barked in a voice loud enough to make the air shake, _"Steven!"_

Connie shook Steven with trembling hands. He finally found his voice, but all he could manage was a squeak of "Who are you?!"

The fusion pursed her lips. While two hands kept holding the raft, another two went to her hips, while the two remaining arms crossed over her chest. Her voice was much smoother, but still terse as she replied, " _I_ am Alexandrite, the fusion of your caretakers who have been _worried sick about you_!"

She waited for him to respond. He put on his sweetest smile, which Connie copied. "I'm sorry...?"

"That's not going to cover it, young man! You too, Connie." Alexandrite turned in the direction of the raft. Connie and Steven were swayed by the movement, but Alexandrite just tutted, "You should be ashamed of yourselves, really."

Steven and Connie glanced at one another. Neither knew what to say.

In just a short minute, Alexandrite had walked them all the way back to the yacht. She stood at the front deck and carefully lowered the raft onto it. People scurried out of the way, while the Maheswarans stepped closer, all of them wringing their hands.

Once she and Steven had stepped out of the raft, Connie was pulled into a hug by her mother. "Oh, thank goodness..." She pulled back from Connie to look into her eyes. "What were you thinking? What if you drowned, or got attacked by sharks, or caught cabin fever?"

Connie just hung her head. Priyanka huffed, while Doug frowned down at his daughter.

"Steven!"

Steven turned and craned his neck up to Alexandrite. He could now see the majority of her now, dressed in a teal-colored bodysuit fairly similar to how Garnet's had looked. She had two sparkle-shaped cutouts on her knees, and a strip between the halves of her suit showed her magenta belly. Her gloves came in three colors, periwinkle, light green, and in the case of the one-fingered ones, rich purple. He could also see that her great teal hair was spiked out around her body like a star.

Alexandrite now had all six arms crossed over her chest and belly. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Steven clicked his tongue. "Um..."

"Steven!"

Another familiar voice called out to him, and Greg went running to him. He stopped beside his son, panting, and looked up at the giant fusion.

"I saw...from the other deck..." He huffed a few more times. He really was sweating a lot for such a short run. "What...happened?"

Alexandrite explained, "Steven and Connie got on a raft and tried to swim back to Beach City to get away. And may I just say that Steven is—" Her lips twisted into a knot. "Grrrrrrr—"

She slapped herself and raised a finger. "May I just say that Steven is—" Her lips pursed shut as two hands came to cover her mouth.

Greg and Steven glanced at each other.

Alexandrite slapped her own hands away from her mouth. "May I just—Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"

Alexandrite's high-pitched squeak was cut off by a crack running down her lens. She stopped still, and as the crack grew wider, almost splitting her face apart, she was consumed in bright light. Her form twisted and bubbled, the Gems on her body trembling in their places.

There was a great _POOM!_ , and she burst. A quick red blur hit the deck, followed by a faster blue one. A particularly lumpy purple blur fell down beside them.

When their bodies had returned to normal, the Crystal Gems shakily stood to their feet. However, instead of turning to the Universes or the Maheswarans, they turned to each other.

"No dinner for a thousand years!" Ruby insisted.

"We can't _starve_ him," cried Opal. "He _has_ to eat, remember?"

"Fine." Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. "No sleep, then."

"He needs that, too!"

 _"Excuse me!"_

All voices stopped by Priyanka's exclamation. She and Doug both had their hands on their hips, while Connie stood beside them. Her fingers curled in the skirt of her dress.

Doug asked, "Would someone please explain to me what's going on here?"

The Crystal Gems turned to Steven, not as angrily as before. Steven took in a deep breath and stepped forward, and Greg's hand slipped off of his shoulder.

"Mister and Miss Maheswaran," said Steven, "We haven't been honest with you. We're not part of an animal control squad." He pointed at the Gems. "The three of them are sentient rocks from outer space who fight other sentient rocks who have been corrupted into monsters, and while they're raising me, they're also teaching me how to do the same thing, because I also have a rock in my body." He lifted up his shirt hem to show them. He paused. "Also, 'fuse' isn't slang for 'leave'. We can literally combine our bodies together into one person, which is what that giant lady was."

For the first time in the evening, the Maheswarans didn't nod, hum, or even blink. They just looked the Crystal Gems up and down.

Finally, Priyanka looked down to Connie. "Was everything a lie?"

Greg rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean...I really _do_ work at a car wash."

Connie sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied. I just...I thought you wouldn't let me hang out with Steven anymore if I told the truth."

Priyanka and Doug both paused. Steven took another step forward.

"I'm not what Connie told you I was," Steven told them. "But I promise, I would never let anything I do hurt Connie! My job is to protect the planet Earth, which includes her, and..." He took a deep breath. "And I understand if you don't want us to hang out anymore. I'll accept it."

He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, but his lip began to wobble.

Priyanka turned to Doug. They had some silent conversation with their eyes, tipping and turning their heads, until Doug finally nodded. Priyanka turned back to Steven.

"I don't like being lied to," she said, "especially not by my daughter."

Connie squeezed her hands into shaking fists.

"However..."

Connie looked up at her mother, wide-eyed.

"I can tell that you _do_ care about her. You did go out of your way to set this whole night up, so..." Priyanka crossed her arms, but a slight smile came to her lips. "You can keep seeing each other."

Steven whooped so loudly that a few people on the deck jumped in fright. He pulled Connie in for a hug tight enough to lift her off of her feet, and although she gasped at first, she was soon laughing with him.

A sharp "ahem" stopped them. Doug glared down at Steven, even as he put on a smile and set Connie back onto her feet.

"Now that we have that settled," Priyanka said, "We have grounding to discuss. Because you still tried to run away on a rubber raft."

Doug chimed in, "We'll check the abacus when we get home."

Connie sighed, but said nothing. Looking to Steven, she smiled and shrugged.

"Also," Opal spoke up, "We have decided your punishment, Steven. No television for a thousand years. Maybe less. We'll see."

Steven blanched. "B-But what about _Crying Breakfast Friends_?!"

Sapphire stepped forward and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I will narrate everything to you."

Steven groaned and gave the deck a light kick. Ruby stepped forward and gave his arm a soft punch. "Love ya, Steve."

Greg rustled Steven's hair with his hand. As Steven giggled, Greg chuckled, "I have no idea what just happened."


	24. The Warp

When the light of the Warp Pad fell away, Steven and the Crystal Gems stood in a place that Steven didn't recognize. It looked like a raised circle of stone in the midst of the nighttime ocean, like a stage or a platform. The moon was high enough to light up the area and turn the water silvery, but it was also illuminated with twinkling blue lights seeping from lines and circles on the floor. They looked almost starry to the eyes, like liquid nebula.

Whatever it was, it was covered in Warp Pads. Some were bigger than theirs, some were smaller, but they were Warp Pads nonetheless. Steven had never seen so many clustered together before, and couldn't imagine why they were.

As the others stepped off of the Pad, Steven turned his head left and right and asked in awe, "What is this place?"

Opal—always ready and eager to explain—smiled and gestured with all four of her arms. "This is the Galaxy Warp."

Steven's eyes sparkled. "Anything with the word 'galaxy' in it is instantly awesome."

"Agreed." Opal reached a toe over to a Warp Pad and tapped on it. "See, these Warp Pads could take you all across the cosmos. Gems used to go to planets far and wide with these things."

Steven looked over the Warp Pad and frowned. The surface of it was splintered like glass. Others were, too. Some had webs of fissures, others were in pieces. They were dead and dull.

"Why's it broken?"

Ruby, inspecting another Warp Pad near the edge of the platform, called out, "Because we wanted them to be."

Steven pursed his lips and tutted. "Ruby, I know you like to break things and all, but this seems a bit extreme, doesn't it?"

Ruby gave him a flat look, while Opal stepped forward again. "We broke them in case Homeworld decided to use them."

Steven's eyes went wide. To think that they could be on Homeworld in the blink of an eye..."They can take you to Homeworld?"

Opal turned behind her. In the middle of the platform was a particularly large Warp Pad, more demolished than the rest of them. Its surface was caved in from a great force.

"This one could," she said. She paused. "Which is why we broke it."

The way she said it, Steven knew she didn't want to keep talking about it. He had yet to know why Homeworld was so dangerous, why the Crystal Gems insisted to flee from it, or really anything, but he got the idea. It was a lot to take in, so he would be told gradually, when the Gems were ready to tell him. Maybe he didn't want to know.

As the Gems continued to prod and inspect the Pads, Steven spoke up again. "If they're all broken, why are we here?"

"They're not _all_ broken," Ruby told him. She pointed out a few smaller Pads, perfectly smooth and bright. "Some of these just go around Earth, so we kept a few for convenience. Warp Pads don't build themselves."

Steven narrowed his eyes and wiggled his fingers at her. "Or do they?"

Ruby went silent, her eyes thoughtful.

Sapphire knelt down in front of one of the intact Pads. Calmly, she said, "We should test them out."

Steven gasped and raised a hand into the air. Bouncing on his heels, he cried, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!"

Opal knelt down beside him with a hum. "Me thinks you wish to say something."

"Can I do it? Pleeeeeease~?"

Ruby clicked her tongue and put her hands on her hips. "I don't know. Give me another 'please'."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"

Ruby raised a hand. "That's sufficient." She turned to Opal and jabbed a thumb at the Pad. "I say he can do it."

Opal hummed again as she stood to her toes. She glanced between the Warp Pad and Steven's watery, puppy-dog-esque eyes. Behind Opal, Ruby fidgeted at the sight of them.

"Okay," she said at long last.

Steven whooped and dashed to the Pad while she added, "Try taking it to familiar places. But the second that you see something dangerous, come right back!"

Steven scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Please. I'm a Warp Master."

Sapphire patted him on the shoulder. With a small smile, she whispered, "Which is why I have faith in you."

Steven sent her a quick grin and braced his body. He had finally figured out that the Warp Pad did however the warpers pleased, so he just thought over and over, _Take me home take me home take me home..._

The lights sputtered and wavered at first, but the Crystal Gems were finally drowned out by the shafts. Steven just barely caught their smiles as he disappeared. Steven lifted into the air, but he kept himself steady and continued to think, _Home, home, home..._

When the lights fell away and he hit the surface again, he stood in the middle of his Room. Moonlight pooled through the curtains, and the clock ticked in the silence.

Steven whooped and gave himself a high-five. "Yes! One down!"

He braced his body again. _Strawberry Battlefield, Strawberry Battlefield..._

Another lift and more light, and he was standing in familiar terrain. The sky was a lighter blue here, probably closer to dawn, and he could see the berry-filled bushes and weapon-dotted hills around him. Debris from the Pyramid still lingered in potholes and mounds.

He gave himself another high-five, which he now realized was actually kind of awkward. "Two down!"

A third time, and he stood at the edge of the crescent-shaped Cove. The sun was peeking orange over the horizon, and he heard distant bird calls from the jungle behind him. The waves lapped slowly at the shore.

"Ha! Three—Whoa!"

Something shoved into him from behind, and he toppled forward on the Pad. He didn't even have time to realize what it was before the Warp Pad lit up again without his control. The beach was drowned out from his sight.

Whatever was on the Warp Pad didn't lift off of him. He twisted and turned, but it had him pinned down. Whatever it was, Steven could tell that it was large and smooth, and perhaps spherical. It was definitely heavy.

The light stopped again, and Steven wheezed when the thing's full weight pushed down on him. He squirmed like a bug.

 _"Steven?!"_

The three voices exclaimed all at once. The thing finally crawled off of him, and as Steven gulped for air, he turned over and saw what it was.

It looked like a giant, glassy blue sphere. It was walking on several...'legs', but they weren't attached to it, instead just hovering around it. With each step, the sphere emitted a dull whistle.

It didn't make it five feet before a blast of white power sent it toppling over.

Opal pulled the string of her bow back for another shot, but Ruby moved forward before she could fire. She pounded her gauntlets into the sphere with the power and speed of a jackhammer, and the sound rang in Steven's ears.

Sapphire joined Ruby in her attacks, but it was clear that neither of them had effect. Opal's arrow had done little else than topple it over, and even as it was being attacked, the legs moved to lift itself up again.

Ruby gave it a good, hard punch, enough to make her own hand vibrate. It just dented the thing. "What is this thing _made out of_?!"

"Step back!"

Sapphire and Ruby did as they were told, and Opal stepped up to the sphere. She had dismissed her bow and instead raised two of her hands up into the air. She clasped them together, took a deep breath, and brought them down with every bit of strength she had.

Her balled hands met the sphere with a ringing _CRACK_ , and splinters shot across the sphere's surface like an eggshell. It legs twitched like a squashed bug, but then they clattered to the ground. It didn't budge another inch.

The Crystal Gems sighed in relief, while Steven finally pulled himself to his feet.

"Are you okay?" asked Ruby.

Steven nodded and dusted his shirt off. "I'm still in one Steven-piece. What is that thing?"

Opal sighed and looked down at it. "I don't kn—Oh, _what in the stars_...?!"

She lifted her hands from the sphere with a wrinkled nose. Her palms were smeared in slick, glittering green goop as thick as paint. More of the stuff oozed out of the cracks of the sphere like egg yolk. Ruby and Sapphire both stepped back from it.

Opal wiped the stuff on her purple leggings while Steven stepped forward. He wiped up some of the goo with his finger. It was warm and made his fingers tingle.

Unfortunately, his touch chipped at some of the sphere, and a spout of goo shot out at him. He stepped out of its path, but not before getting a good splash of it on his face. It tingled over his cheeks, and Opal blocked the spout with a hand.

Wiping it from his face—which really didn't do much, since it also stained like paint—Steven asked through green lips, "It can't be some kind of Gem Monster, right?"

"No," Ruby murmured. She ran her ungloved fingertips over a length of cracks in the sphere's surface. "It would have poofed by now."

"It doesn't matter now," Opal sighed. "It's broken and it's not a problem anymore."

Sapphire nodded her head to the edge of the platform. "We should get rid of it."

"Alright." Opal rolled up her sleeves that she did not have and added, "Step back unless you want to be gooped."

She tucked her hands underneath the sphere and pushed. As it rolled forward, more of the ooze trickled from the cracks. It left a bright, wet trail as Opal pushed it to the edge of the platform.

Steven, confused out of his mind, called out, "Wait!"

Opal stopped rolling just as she came to the edge. "What?"

"Couldn't that be important?" asked Steven. When no one said anything, he continued, "We don't know anything about it and it just came from the Warp Pads. Isn't that weird?"

"Of course it's weird," said Ruby. "But it's broken now."

Sapphire calmly added, "We don't need to bother with it anymore."

Before Steven could say anything else, Opal pushed the sphere off. There was a great splash of seawater, and a surge of gurgling bubbles as it sunk down. Opal returned to the others, stained in green all over.

Steven pursed his lips. Everyone was brushing this off so easily, but... "Are you guys sure? Aren't most Gem-magic-thingies really important?"

Opal shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, but not all of them. Trust us, Steven." She reached down and patted Ruby's head, smearing green goop all over her hair. "This is nothing for us to worry our pretty little heads about."

Ruby groaned and pulled back, but Opal's hands followed her. More goop smeared her headband. "O-pal! That's gross!"

Opal raised a brow. "Gross, huh? Well, then. It'd be a shame if someone were to... _hug you right now_."

Another hand reached for her, and Ruby leaned further back. "Nooooooooooo!"

Sapphire—Opal had already picked her up with one hand—just dangled in the air and told her, "You can't escape."

Ruby groaned again, but let Opal pick her up at long last. Opal chuckled and hugged them all in a slippery embrace, smearing green goop all over them. Ruby crossed her arms over her chest while Sapphire remained silent. Steven watched them with unsure eyes.

He stood straight when Opal looked at him. "Want in, Steven?"

He paused. "Do I have a choice?"

"Of course not!"

"Then yes!"

* * *

Two days passed uneventfully, and neither Steven nor the Crystal Gems brought the sphere-thing up again. It was forgotten altogether, a little blip in the past.

He only thought about it again when they were using the Warp Pad, headed to another mission. It was only in passing, though, because by that point, he had figured that the Crystal Gems were right. Whatever the thing was, it hadn't affected them and hadn't appeared again, so how harmful could it be?

When the lights fell away, they once again stood in the Strawberry Battlefield. It was probably a little after noon here, with the sun high and the sky cloudy. Butterflies swarmed in the air, landing in the bushes to sip juice from the strawberries.

As they stepped down from the Pad, Opal made a beeline for something long sticking out of the ground. She wrapped a hand around it and gave it a hard tug. Leaves and branches split apart as the silver blade of a long sabre appeared.

Opal placed the blade on her shoulder and turned to the others. "Alright, find whatever weapons we may use in the future. Nothing broken or dented—all pristine!"

The Crystal Gems nodded and dispersed, Ruby jumping to work while Sapphire practically floated away. Steven started sifting through the bushes, waving the butterflies away.

They kept like this for an hour or so, with the sun beating down and an occasional breeze running through the area. Every now and then, Steven would pop a strawberry into his mouth...and regret it when the butterflies fluttered around him. He had to blow them away from his lips more than once.

Still, he was making fine progress. He found daggers, sabers, whips, and an occasional morning star in the bushes, whatever he could get. Opal was taking care of the biggest weapons. Ruby went for the most obvious ones, while Sapphire carefully picked through the bushes.

With an armful of weapons, Steven _carefully_ made his way to the piles they had made in a small clearing. All of the weapons were organized by type, then by size. The smallest weapon was a dagger the length of Steven's finger, the biggest a battleax twice as big as Opal.

He put the weapons into their organized piles, and just as he put down the last sword, he heard Ruby call out from behind him, "Out of the way!"

He stepped aside before he could see her. She placed a giant club, maybe three times the size of her body, in its pile with a hard _THUMP_ that made the blades rattle. She dusted her palms off like it was easy work when she was done.

Steven's eyes roamed over the array of weapons. "Man. Gems used to take these battles pretty seriously, huh?"

"We still do," Ruby declared. "Which is why we only use the raddest of weapons. Like this."

She bent down and picked up a gauntlet from its pile. It was twice the size of her hands, made of a shining metal, and had long, sharp claws jutting from the knuckles.

"Look at how rad this thing is, Steven. _Look_ at how rad."

"That's pretty rad."

Steven paused. A smirk slowly crept onto his face.

"Hey, Ruby?"

She had her eyes on the gauntlet, and didn't realize that he'd spoken for a second. "Wha?"

"You know what?"

"Wha?"

Steven crossed his arms over his chest and sang, "I bet I can get a cooler weapon than you~."

Ruby's eyes narrowed dangerously as she slowly set the gauntlet back down. She spoke in a low whisper, _"No you can't."_

Steven raised a brow. "Can't I?"

Ruby's glower didn't wane as she hissed out, "Five minutes. Raddest wins."

" _You're on."_

They both span on their heels and took off.

Steven's eyes roamed over the bushes and boulders, looking out for anything particularly long or bulky or sharp sticking out from them.

He ran to a long, shining hilt and pulled on it hard. It didn't budge an inch. He pulled again, with all of his strength, and it still refused to move. He looked over his shoulder. He could see Ruby's red form zipping around the area. She hurtled over Sapphire.

He spotted a thick, engraved handle next, and stumbled toward it. He tugged on it with all of his strength, and a moment later, it let go of the earth. He whooped in victory…But then saw what was at the end. It was just a needle, as long as his pinky. He groaned and tossed it over his shoulder.

He looked around again. _No, no, no, no…_

At the beginning slope of a hill, he spotted another handle. It was thick, shining brightly, and had a beautiful amount of carvings and jewels on it.

 _There!_

Steven dashed to it as fast as he could, sending butterflies flying in his wake. He finally came to it, and he lunged for it…

…And missed. It moved out of his way.

Steven stumbled dumbly. Surely it hadn't just moved on its own?

He moved for it, and again, it moved out of his path. It crept farther into the bushes.

Steven moved to follow, and yelped when he was swallowed by leaves and branches. He wasn't just going down a hill; he was sinking into an ocean of strawberry bushes. He had to jump on his feet to break through the 'canopy'.

The handle kept moving, and Steven kept following. He almost felt like a prowling cat stalking its prey. The handle didn't move any faster or slower, but Steven moved faster and faster and faster, until he finally lunged for it.

He hit something rock-hard and went tumbling.

He yelped again as his world span. Twigs scraped his skin and strawberries burst underneath him as he rolled over and over.

At long last, his tumbling came to a stop in a flat clearing at the bottom of the hill. He lied there for a second, his mind spinning, before pushing himself up. He was smeared in dirt and sticky pink juice that made butterflies flutter closer.

The handle was still moving through the bushes, only now, it was towards Steven. When it came to the edge of the clearing, it dropped out of the foliage and landed on the dirt. It belonged to a thick-bladed sword with a serrated edge. It didn't move further.

The bushes did, however. Something crept through them, inching closer to Steven, until it finally broke through.

Steven's jaw dropped. _"What?!"_

"Hey, Steven!"

Ruby appeared at the top of the hill, a good distance above him. Her eyes scanned around until they finally fell on him in the clearing, and she grinned as she held up the thing in her hand. It was a sword…kind of. It had a pommel, but the blade jutted and curled in so many directions that it looked more like a bizarre fleur-de-lis.

"What 'cha got?" Ruby called down to him. "Because let me tell ya, this thing is at least a nine on the Rad Scale!"

" _Ruby!"_

She stopped smiling. "Wha?"

Steven pointed to the front of the bushes, just out of her sight.

" _It's another robo-thingy!"_

Almost on cue, the sphere moved forward on its legs, almost wandering around Steven. It couldn't have possibly been the same one—it was perfectly smooth, will all of its legs that made the same whistling.

Ruby dropped her sword at once. _"What_ on—?! _Opal!"_

The four-armed Gem appeared at her side with remarkable speed. "Wha?"

Ruby jabbed a finger down the hill. Opal's eyes followed, and they went wide at the sight of the operating sphere.

The shock only lasted a moment. Opal glowered down at the sphere and bent her body down. She leapt forward and upwards with the grace of a cat, all the way down the hill, until she collided with the sphere.

They both went tumbling, and Steven dove out of the way. Opal had wrapped all of her arms around the thing and was squeezing it as hard as she could. Cracks and fissures crept over the sphere's surface.

Steven flinched at the sight. "Opal—!"

Sapphire appeared from the bushes so quickly it made him jump. She didn't say anything, but her hands hovered around him, as if expecting him to collapse at any moment.

Ruby followed her through the bushes, and said what Sapphire didn't. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No," replied Steven. "This one didn't hurt me, either."

There was a sharp splintering sound, then a heavy thud. Opal had squeezed the sphere until its surface was little else than cracks. A few chips fell away, and more of the bright, slippery goop oozed and poured out of it. Its legs lied motionless on the ground.

Opal sighed and leaned back. She was once gain stained in the goo, more so than last time. She dusted—well, wiped her hands off.

"And it won't get the chance to," she told the others.

Steven frowned at the mess in front of her. "Opal! Why'd you break it?!"

Opal blinked at him. "What else would I do?"

Steven stepped forward to the thing, but turned his head to the Gems. "Don't you think it's suspicious now? This is the second one, and we still don't know where it came from."

Sapphire spoke up. "We have more important things to worry about."

"Yeah," said Ruby. She walked up to the mess and kicked at one of the legs. "This is nothing compared to everything else we have to do. It's just an annoyance."

"Is it, though?" countered Steven. " _Like I said,_ we don't know what it is."

Opal shrugged. "Well, we're not going to find out now."

Steven paused, blinking up at her. Slowly, he spoke, "Yeah… _Because you broke it._ "

Opal frowned and snapped a finger at him. "I don't need yo' sass-a-frass."

Steven tipped his head back and groaned. "Why aren't you guys listening to me?"

"Steven, Steven, Steven." Ruby wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze. "You need to relax. Look, if these things were a problem, we'd know, wouldn't we?"

Steven frowned. He didn't like the sound of this. The Gems were ten times more knowledgeable than he was, but not in this case. They were just as clueless as he was, but they were acting like they were just humoring him.

Finally, he just said, "Yeah."

Ruby smiled and patted his shoulder. "Good. Now, not to be pushy, but I do believe I won the Rad Weapon Contest. Do I receive a prize of any form?"

* * *

Three more days passed with no robo-sphere-thingies. The Crystal Gems, again, did not bring it up, but Steven wanted to. He thought about slipping it in every now and then, but he always decided against it at the last second.

In the midst of all this, he and Connie had made hanging-out plans. Now that he could use the Warp Pads correctly, he wanted to show Connie some of the places he's seen in his adventures. Nowhere dangerous, of course. He was starting to second-guess whatever decisions he made with Connie after the deal with her parents.

At long last, the two of them were on the shore of the Crystal Cove. Admittedly, it wasn't particularly "magical", and they already lived on a beach, but it was a good baby step. It was good weather, too, with a high sun and a cloudy sky.

Connie admired the scenery as she stepped off of the Warp Pad (she and Steven had to hold hands to keep her from flying away). She was dressed in a one-piece bathing suit and had a beach bag tucked underneath her arm.

"So this is where that Pufferfish thingy was?" she asked.

Steven nodded. "Yep! It's also where I probably scarred Ruby and Sapphire for life and saw a beloved friend lose its mind and basically give its life for me but ANYWAY! It's all in the past now."

Connie nodded, a bit shakily. She took out an extra-large beach towel and spread it out over the sand, and she and Steven both sat down.

Connie pulled out a few things from her bag—two apples, some sunblock, sunglasses…She also took out a stack of papers that she passed to Steven.

"Okay, so here's the transcript for the episode of _Crying Breakfast Friends_ you missed," she said.

Steven giggled in delight as he took them from her, but she hesitated.

"You _do_ know that it's just a cartoon about breakfast food crying about easily-preventable problems, right?"

Steven scoffed, not unkindly. "Well, yeah. What did you think it was going to be about?"

Connie paused, lips pursed, but eventually just clicked her tongue. "That's fair."

As she dug out the rest of the stuff from her bag—a book, some flip-flops, inflatable floaties, etc.—Connie fell silent. Steven could tell she was waiting to speak, so he waited in turn.

Finally, she did. "If you don't mind me asking, how's the robo-sphere situation going?"

His smile faltered. He shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. I still don't agree with them, but I guess they know more about it than I do. But they also don't. It's just one of those situations where you have two opposite opinions, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, I feel you."

Steven nodded. "But I haven't seen any more of them since then. Maybe it's all over."

Connie nodded, a bit thoughtfully. She took a bite of an apple, paused, then asked, "Hey, can I ask you something else?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"What do the robo-things look like?"

Steven paused. "Well…they're big and round and kind of greenish-bluish? And they have legs, but they're not connected to them, they kind of just hover around."

Connie nodded again. She lifted a finger and pointed behind him. "Like that?"

Steven turned around. On the other side of the beach, stumbling from the jungle, another sphere was moving in the sand. A new one, too, completely intact and functional.

Steven turned back to Connie. "Yeah, like that."

* * *

The second that he and Connie returned to his Room, she made a beeline for the door. The Crystal Gems were also in the room, seated on the sofas or the island stools, and frowned when they heard how quickly Steven bid her farewell.

"OkaythanksforcomingConnielet'sdoitagainlater!"

Connie called back, "Okaythanksbye!"

The screen door clattered shut behind her.

Before any of the Crystal Gems could get a syllable out, Steven turned to them and shouted, "There's another robo-thingy!"

A single, momentary glance was passed through them before they dashed up to the Warp Pad. The four of them squeezed onto its surface and quickly activated it.

They were on the Cove's beach in no time at all. The thing had just come to the Warp Pad when they appeared, and with an upward swing of her leg, Opal sent it tumbling away.

It stopped rolling some ten feet from the Warp Pad, and Opal trotted after it. She didn't immediately attack it, instead circling around it and giving it a punch or a kick when it moved. Ruby and Sapphire flanked her with weary faces.

Steven spoke up, "See? Now can we all agree that this is weird?"

"Of course it's weird," said Ruby.

"Yes!"

"But—"

"Why 'but'?"

"Is it really dangerous?" said Opal. She gave the sphere another scolding punch. "This is definitely unusual, but we still have bigger things to worry about. We don't know if this thing is a problem."

"That's what I'm _saying_!" Steven ran a hand through his curls. "Look, you guys don't know any more about this than I do. We can't just say 'Don't worry about it' because we don't know what it is. That's why we _should_ worry about it!"

Opal, who had been tugging the sphere's legs away, paused. She tossed them over her shoulder, and they landed in the water behind her. She stepped forward, but not to Steven.

"Steven," she began, in that 'Now-I'm-talking-to-you-like-a-child-for-some-reason' way. "We know what we're doing. What's more important right now? Corrupted Gem monsters that may hurt us and/or other people, or a little nuisance that isn't doing anything?"

Steven took in a deep breath in an attempt to simmer his anger. A million words churned in his throat, but he forced out only a few of them.

"But how do we _know_ it isn't doing anything? These things are using the Warp Pads, so what if they aren't even from Earth?"

Ruby guffawed. She leaned against the sphere as she snorted, "What, you think they're from _Homeworld_?"

Opal tutted and shook her head. "Steven, come on, now. The Homeworld Warp is broken. If these things came from there, they'd have to..." She waved a hand. "Fall from the sky!"

Steven blinked at her again. "Okay. So they fall down from the sky. That's a legitimate theory."

Opal frowned, clearly not expecting her analogy to fire back on her.

Steven sighed and turned to Sapphire. "Can't you just use your future vision to see where they're coming from?"

Sapphire calmly replied, "I'd have to try every possible future to do that, and there are more important reasons to use future vision."

"What, you too?!" Steven lifted up a hand and started counting off his fingers. "'Not important,' 'Don't worry about it', 'Nuisance'. How many times are you guys just going to say the same things over and over?"

The Crystal Gems pursed their lips. Not in thought, either, but more or less in frustration. They still weren't listening to a word Steven was saying.

Opal raised a finger and opened her mouth, but Steven turned on his heel for the Warp before she could start.

"I'm going back home. Apparently, there's nothing to worry about."

He heard them call his name, either in worry or exasperation, but the whistling of the Warp Pad swallowed their voices.

Steven couldn't stop the anger boiling inside of him, no matter how hard he tried. He didn't like being dismissed and ignored. He didn't like that the Crystal Gems were turning away from what could be a real problem. He _really_ didn't like that even now, with how far he's come, they were still treating him like a child and not a real Crystal Gem.

He reappeared in his Room and hopped off of the Warp Pad. He wasn't sure what he was going to do—he was too annoyed to try anything relaxing.

The Warp Pad lit up again, and he was close enough for the power to tug at his shirt. He stepped farther away from it, and turned to watch the Crystal Gems arrive.

It was only Opal who appeared. A frowning, splattered-in-green-goo Opal.

Steven groaned and turned away from her, heading to the door. She must have known how much worse she just made him felt, right?

Her hand tugged on his shirt, stopping him.

"Steven," she told him, "You need to calm down."

"I _am_ calm," countered Steven. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm just also very not-happy."

He heard the Warp Pad activate again, and two pairs of footsteps stepping off of it, but coming no closer. Now he felt embarrassed, too, with Ruby and Sapphire watching as he was basically scolded. He felt like a kid again.

"Hey," Opal spoke again. "Let's just take a minute to talk, okay? Hey, Sapphire, how about you get us some drinks?"

Instantly, Steven could hear the faucet turn and water pouring into a cup. The sound was like gasoline to the fire in his chest.

"No," he said. He tried to speak calmly, but he couldn't stop the slight bite his words had. "You're just going to say the same thing and not listen to me."

Behind him, Opal paused. "Steven, I don't like this..." She didn't say anything else, but she was probably going to say 'attitude' or 'behavior'.

Before he could stop himself, Steven mumbled, " _I_ don't like being talked to like I'm not important."

Another pause, more shocked. When Opal spoke again, her voice was a mixture of guilt, worry, and a bit of anger. "Steven, we're not talking to you like that!"

Steven let out a loud growl of annoyance and spun to face her, arms spread. " _Yes_ , you—!"

He made a mistake.

 _A very big mistake._

In the time that he turned to face Opal, face knit together in anger, all of his frustration pouring out of him, he had completely forgotten just how close Opal was.

He elbowed her right in the face. _Hard._

Steven felt it running up his arm before he realized what had happened. Opal gasped and brought a hand to her face as she reeled back. She had been squatting down on her tip-toes, but ended up falling on her behind as she pulled away from him.

Steven felt his blood run cold, and he froze as still as a statue. He stared wide-eyed at Opal, then glanced to the others.

Ruby was just as frozen as he was, staring down at Opal with wide eyes and a tight mouth. Sapphire dropped her cup of water.

Opal finally pulled her hand away from her face. Slowly, her eyes lifted up to him, narrowed and fiery.

He gulped.

* * *

He was under house arrest.

No going to It's a Wash, no going to see Connie, no going down to the beach, and _especially_ no using the Warp Pad. That, coupled with his 'No Television' rule, and Steven felt like he was in a jail.

He was sitting on his bed, reading an old book he had found in the shelves. It was the first of a series titled _The No Home Boys_. But it wasn't like Steven was even absorbing any of the words. He felt so confused and frustrated and guilty that he was almost sick.

He hadn't seen the Crystal Gems for a while. Opal had disappeared into the Temple after telling him (with a tight, clipped voice) that he was grounded. She was followed by a hesitant Ruby and Sapphire. Now, it was dark in his Room, and the only sound was the ticking clock.

Blue light sudden filled the area, and Steven looked up from his book. The Temple Door had disappeared, and Sapphire stepped out, alone.

Steven turned back to his book, but he knew where she was headed. Without a sound, Sapphire made her way across the room and up the steps to his loft.

She knelt down beside his bed. "Hi."

Steven turned a page and pretended to keep reading. "Hey."

Sapphire turned away from him, lips slightly pursed. It was one of the few times that Steven saw her visibly awkward about something. Usually, it was when she was facing a problem she hadn't dealt with before. Like now.

She turned back to him. "Do you want something to eat? A TV dinner?"

Steven turned another page. "Ruby got all the TV dinners for winning the contest."

Sapphire nodded and said nothing. She lingered at his bedside.

Steven didn't look at her as he asked, "Is there something you need?"

Sapphire paused. "You know how important you are to us, right?"

Another page. "Yeah."

She nodded again.

Steven finally set his book down. "Is there something else?"

Sapphire slowly stood to her feet, tugging the skirt of her dress straight. She clasped her hands a bit more stiffly than usual. "Nothing I say can make you feel better."

Steven looked at her for a long moment. He turned back to his book, flipping it to the beginning. Sapphire turned for the stairs.

However, after the first few steps, she paused and turned back around.

"Except maybe food. You're sure you don't want anything?"

"I'm fine."

No more sound came from her after that. The room lit with blue light once more, and he was alone again.

Steven tried to get back to his book, but after another minute of reading without processing, he finally shut it and just decided to head to bed. There was nothing else he could do, anyway.

He shut the lamp off and crawled underneath his comforter. He nestled into his pillow. He wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, but he could get a head start.

A minute or so of dark silence passed, but then Steven heard something else.

It almost sounded like a dull, distant whistling. Steven leaned up a bit, tired eyes looking around the dark Room. Nothing was on or moving, yet the sound continued.

He realized then that it was coming from outside. Just as he turned to the window, the whistling stopped, and all he caught was a flicker of movement in the ocean outside. Nothing else followed.

Steven paused. It was definitely odd, but...Whatever. It's not like he could go outside, anyway.

He rolled back in his bed, murmuring, "There are more important things to worry about."

He shut his eyes once more.

He wasn't sure how much time passed. It was silent for a good long time, and he was just tilting towards sleep.

But then there was another sound. This time, it was definitely close to him, and sounded more like thudding or knocking than whistling.

It was coming from the front of his Room, and Steven crawled forward on his bed to see what it was.

Just outside the door, a fourth sphere was trying to push its way inside. Its legs moved helplessly. Its body was far too big for the doorframe, and every attempt to move forward just ended with its edges hitting the wood.

Finally, it reeled back and lunged forward. With a short _BOOM_ , chunks of the walls scattered to the floor as the sphere moved inside.

Steven was so sleep-deprived and confused that he didn't realize that it was heading for the Warp Pad until it was halfway across the room.

"Wait! No, no, no!"

He stumbled down the steps as quickly as he could and dashed to the sphere. He pressed his hands to its front and tried to hold his ground, to no avail. The sphere just pushed him with it.

"I admire your determination, but please...go...away!"

The sphere ignored him and continued forward. It pushed them both onto the Warp Pad. Just as Steven thought to get off, the Warp Pad activated.

Steven lifted into the air above the sphere. He steadied himself and reached down for it, but his fingers grasped nothing. His limbs flailed uselessly.

He groaned. "Curse these useless digits!"

Gravity slammed back down on them. Steven landed on the sphere belly-first.

He groaned as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. The sphere wasn't moving.

He looked up to where they stood.

It was definitely...unfamiliar.

Wherever he was, it looked like a canyon, from what he could tell. Walls of rock raised on either side of him, stretching miles above. Everything was dark and dusty, and the stars in the opening above did not help at all. It was eerily quiet, save for the whistling wind. Nothing moved.

Another thing he noticed was the odd devices on the canyon walls. At least, they looked like devices. Four metallic legs clung to the rock while the rest of the machine jutted out from it. They were all topped with red shapes and filled with red goo and pulp or something else. They did not move, either, and were coated in layers of dust. They were frozen.

The canyon walls themselves were bizarre. They were full of holes for miles, but they looked so _neat_. There was no way they were natural, the holes were precisely cut, and they had peculiar shapes. Steven almost wanted to say that they looked like people, with heads and shoulders.

All thoughts of returning home were forgotten. Steven was utterly confused. What was this place? What was the sphere doing here? Whatever the case, the place was unnerving him.

He looked down at the sphere, which still hadn't moved. He put on the biggest smile he could.

"Don't suppose I can convince you to take me home?"

The sphere moved forward.

Steven fumbled to keep his balance. The sphere trotted through the canyon, its whistling echoing off the walls. Steven clung to its top. He glanced back at the Warp Pad as it moved further away.

The sphere stopped again.

"Um...You okay?"

The legs of the sphere lifted up and disappeared inside of its body, but it remained floating. Flickering green light came from underneath it, and Steven leaned forward to see what it was.

A little bolt of hot yellow electricity was sparking from the sphere's bottom. The end danced across the ground, and suddenly, Steven and the sphere hovered above a glowing green square. Steven flinched back from the light.

There was a moment of vibration, and Steven was thrown into the air. He landed back down a moment later, but the surface he landed on was smooth, not round. He sat up and looked down again. The sphere had transformed into a pyramid, with its square side underneath Steven.

With a single turn, the sphere-turned pyramid sank down into the green square in the earth. Sparkling yellow light peeked through the seams. When the glowing stopped, the surface that Steven sat on was bright green and covered in a pattern of triangles and squares.

Then he was moving down, and all Steven got out was "Wha—?!"

He was swallowed into darkness, and the opening shrank above him. His stomach began to churn, and a cold sweat broke out over his skin. What was going on? Where was he?

The further he moved, he saw things peeking out from the tunnel walls. They were glassy and green, and Steven wanted to say that they looked like the veins within the Temple.

When he stopped moving, a diamond of bright yellow light appeared beneath his feet. The light seeped from the diamond's front tip, shooting forward and creating lines that formed a great hexagon before Steven.

He realized that the light was outlining a room amongst the veins. It had seven walls, almost like a box that was facing Steven. It was empty, but the farthest wall held a cluster of green gemstones in an alcove. It had a very sterile, almost laboratory-like feel to it.

"What in the stars...?"

A circle of light appeared in the room's floor. A pedestal rose up from it, its top shaped like a hand.

As if he wasn't confused enough, Steven heard an odd squelching. He turned left, right, then leaned over the edge of the pyramid-shaped platform.

The tip of the pyramid was going gooey like paint. As Steven watched, a bit of the pyramid dripped down onto a flat space below him.

The second the drop hit the ground, it spouted four legs. It almost looked like a miniature version of the robo-sphere.

The mini-sphere crawled up the short slope into the room ahead. It scuttled up the pedestal and slapped itself down onto the hand.

The pedestal and all of the walls of the room lit up with power, depicting graphs and symbols and what other nonsense Steven couldn't understand. The cluster of gemstones flickered to life, and they gave out shafts of light that formed together, shapelessly at first, but then into a rectangular screen.

The screen flashed with static, but an image eventually came through.

It was blurry at first. Green blobs moved across the screen, and every now and then, they would go sharper and duller, like whatever was on the other side was tampering with it. Steven heard warbled mumblings.

The screen became clear enough for Steven to see part of what was on the other side of the feed: A chest and two moving arms. The person's skin was bright green, and the front of their top held a yellow diamond insignia.

Steven's brows furrowed as he watched. "Who…?"

The screen moved upward.

Her yellowish-green hair, in the shape of a triangle, framed her face. Her eyes appeared green, but maybe that was just because of the visor on the upper half of her face. Her lips were pinched together as she fiddled with the feed.

But above all of that, she had a green triangular Gem in her forehead.

Although her eyes moved across the room, she took no notice of Steven. He must have been just out of her field of view.

Steven didn't know what to do, so just kept watching, despite the millions of questions forming in his brain. Here he was, in some kind of underground bunker in a canyon that a robotic sphere brought him to, with a Gem that he didn't recognize.

He whispered to himself, "At least I was right."

The Gem lifted her arm. From her elbow down, it was shaped in an odd sort of stump. She still had fingers, but they were like green cylinders that hovered around, like the legs of the robo-sphere.

The fingers of her hand moved and formed into a hexagonal hologram. Symbols and charts appeared on it, but Steven couldn't make them out. The remaining finger moved across the hologram like a stylus.

"Log Date: Three-nine-four," the Gem spoke. She had a high voice, but it was clipped and calm. "This is Peridot, reporting established Gem Projection Link with the Prime Kindergarten Control Room in Facet Five. After several failed attempts to Warp to Planet Earth, I have sent several Plug Robonoids to the planet manually. One has successfully made it to and activated the Prime Kindergarten. I will now be composing a status check."

The screen went to static.

Steven stepped forward, and the Gem—Peridot?—didn't appear.

However, as he stepped forward, two white circles appeared in the floor. Shapes moved up from them, morphing and shifting until they formed two great hands. They were probably twice Steven's side, with square palms that could squash anything flat.

Steven was so engrossed in them that he didn't quite hear what Peridot said next. It was something about "Injectors" and "aberrations". Whatever it was, the hands moved to the top panels of the room.

They touched the panels, and a network of circles and lines appeared. The fingers pressed into them like the holes of a bowling ball and twisted around. From the ceiling panel, six dark cylinders peeked down unevenly.

Steven couldn't take it anymore. He was confused, sleep-deprived, and bursting with questions.

He finally spoke up, "Hello?"

Everything went still.

Then, the cylinders disappeared, the hands untwisted, and Peridot reappeared. She stared down at him, wide-eyed behind her visor.

Her eyes narrowed. "Identify yourself."

Steven smiled and waved up at her. "I'm Steven."

Peridot's lips pursed more. Her hand-hologram reappeared, and she murmured to it, "There appears to be an infestation of…'Stevens' in the Prime Kindergarten. Stand by." She turned back to Steven. "How did you enter this area?"

"I followed your robo-thingy. Your Robonoid, I think you called it?"

"I see. Are there any other Stevens in the area?"

"Nah, just me. I'm an original Steven."

"That's fortunate." She murmured to her hologram, "Disregard the last statement. There's only a single, insignificant lifeform present. Stand by."

Steven frowned. "I wouldn't say insignificant. I would say…" He licked his thumb and ran it across his brows. " _Noteworthy_."

Peridot blinked at him, unimpressed. "If there are no other Stevens in the area, are they elsewhere? Are…" Peridot's eyes narrowed at her hologram. " _Hew-mans_ still the dominant species of the planet?"

"Yeah! They're everywhere. I mean, I usually only see the ones on the beach, but they're all over the planet!"

"I see." Peridot typed something onto her hologram and continued, "Tell me, Steven. Are you aware that you are trespassing on Homeworld property?"

"Um…no. I didn't know this place belonged to Homeworld." Steven shrugged. "I don't really know what this _is_. What's a Kindergarten?"

Peridot hesitated to speak.

After a moment, she said, "Tell me, Steven. You _are_ aware of the existence of Gemkind and our Homeworld?"

"Mm-hm." Steven nodded confidently. "I'm familiar."

Peridot hummed. With a click of her tongue, she explained, "What you stand in right now is the Prime Kindergarten Control Room Facet Five."

Steven nodded. "Yeah, you said that. But what is it?"

Peridot turned to her hologram as she replied, "The Prime Kindergarten is a facility created by Homeworld to create their Gems, mostly those of the Quartz variety."

Steven let that sink in. So all of those holes in the canyon…Came from Gems? _All_ of them? What did she mean, 'Quartz variety? He already knew that the others didn't have parents like he did, but he didn't realize that they just burst out of the rock like that.

And also…Homeworld was creating more Gems on Earth, and he couldn't understand what was so 'evil' about that.

"Ohhhh…Huh." Steven paused and ran a hand up his arm. "That's interesting."

"Indeed." Peridot glanced at him. "Very outdated, however. This technology is absolutely archaic compared to what we have now."

Steven smiled at Peridot's casual murmuring. Okay, so she was a bit blunt and direct, but she didn't seem bad at all. Then again…

"Hey, you're at Homeworld right now, aren't you?"

"Indeed," Peridot said again. She still wasn't looking at him.

"What's it like there? I've never been there before. I keep trying it to imagine it in my head, but all I ever get is a big house with a picket fence and a chimney and I know that can't possibly be right…Unless it is."

Peridot blinked down at him. Slowly, she replied, "Homeworld is as magnificent as it always is. Your planet, on the other hand, seems to be as primitive as ever, from what the Robonoids reported before they were destroyed." She added in a murmur, "I'm still not aware of what destroyed them to begin with…"

"I wouldn't call Earth primitive," Steven said with a shrug. "But then again, I guess you aren't really here, so you wouldn't know. But hey, if you don't like Earth, why were you trying to get here so bad?"

Peridot only said, "Work."

Steven popped his lips. "What kinda work?"

One of the hands curled into a fist. Steven's eyes went wide as it hovered over him.

"The kind that needs to be resumed."

The fist came swinging down.

Steven braced himself for the impact, thinking, _At least I was right._

The impact never came.

Opal gritted her teeth as she held the fist above them both. With a grunt, she pushed it away with one powerful shove. She stood, stiff and ready to pounce, in front of Steven.

Peridot's eyes bulged. When she spoke, her voice was cracking with panic. "A fu—?! A Ge—?! What is a Gem doing here?"

Right on cue, they were joined by the other two Crystal Gems. Ruby landed beside Opal, gauntlets ready and eyes aflame, while Sapphire sped to Steven's side. She gripped her knuckledusters tightly.

Peridot's eyes went from Gem to Gem. "How—?! There were no reports of Gem presence on this planet, from the Plug Robonoids _or_ the Finger Pod…! _What are you doing here?!_ "

" _We_ are protecting this planet from Homeworld," Opal growled.

"Gems were wiped out from this planet…But…!" Peridot's eyes narrowed down at them. " _You!_ You've been the ones destroying the Plug Robonoids! Did you destroy the Homeworld Warp, too? Is that why I could never get it to work?" Peridot growled. "Who _are_ you?!"

Sapphire's voice, for once, was tight with fury as she bit out, "We are the Crystal Gems!"

Ruby added, "We've been protecting this planet for thousands of years, and we're not going to stop now!"

A heavy pause followed.

Steven murmured, "What's going on?"

Opal barked, _"Tear it all down!"_

And just that like, everyone was moving.

Opal pulled back the string of her bow and fired a hot arrow at one of the hands. On the other side of the feed, Peridot jumped and pulled it back, as if swatting away a bug. The arrow splintered one of the screens on the walls instead. In Peridot's distraction, she didn't notice Sapphire and Ruby latch onto the other hand.

Peridot shook her hand, and although Sapphire and Ruby were reduced to blurs, they held tight.

Opal fired another arrow, and this time, it hit the hand directly. It fell apart into green chunks that hit the floor uselessly.

"Hey!" Peridot snarled. Any trace of her calm and composed face had disappeared. "Stop that! _THIS IS ANNOYINGLY UNORTHODOX!"_

Ruby tugged a finger off of the hand and tossed it to the ground. Peridot tried to persist, but the hand fell apart anyway.

"Sapphire!" Ruby gestured her over. "Come on!"

Sapphire dashed to her and let Ruby lift her up. Ruby threw her at the clustered gemstones like a football, and the moment that Sapphire collided with them, there was a reverberating _BOOM_ and the sound of splintering glass. Chunks of the gemstones clattered to the ground.

The screen depicting Peridot began to glitch and flicker. On the other side, Peridot moved to and fro, trying to save it, but eventually just growled in defeat.

Just as she began to fade, she barked, _"This is going to be reported!"_

She vanished, and the room went dark.

The Crystal Gems stayed rigid, as if expecting something else to come. Steven almost felt forgotten about.

At least, until Opal scooped him up and squeezed him to her.

"Oof!"

"Steven…" Opal's voice was both a sigh of relief and a groan of frustration. She pulled Steven away from her, enough for her to look into his eyes. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"The robo-sphere thingy," replied Steven. He paused. "Um…The Robonoid! One of them came to the house and—"

"I know, I know." Opal sighed. "Just…Ugh, you are causing me some grievances, child."

Ruby dismissed her gauntlets into her Gem. Dusting her hands off, she told Steven, "Sapphire saw that you were going to be here."

"I told Opal first," Sapphire chimed in. "I went to tell Ruby…"

Ruby finished, "But by the time we made it to the Warp Pad, Opal was long gone."

"Aw." Steven smirked down at Opal. He tried to be coy, but really, he was just relieved. "You were worried about me!"

He wasn't expecting the genuine relief and frustration in Opal's eyes, nor the crack in her voice when she spoke. "Of _course_ I was worried! We all were!"

A glance down at the other two Crystal Gems, and Steven knew she was right. Sapphire was frowning deeply, while Ruby half-glared, half-frowned up at Steven.

"Soooo…You're not mad at me?"

"No, I'm not." Opal set Steven back on his feet, but remained kneeling before him. "Steven, I'm sorry. You _are_ important, and we weren't trying to treat you like a child. We were just…We were…"

Ruby spoke for her. "We were being stupid."

Sapphire added, "Absolutely idiotic."

"Well…Yeah." Opal put a hand in Steven's hair, but didn't ruffle it. "You are a Crystal Gem like us. Always have been, always will be. And from now on, we are going to treat you as you should be treated."

Steven gave his signature starry smile. His insides were on fire, but instead of with the anger he had felt earlier that day, it was with relief and joy. "With respect?"

Sapphire nodded, smiling. "With respect."

"Respectamundo," Ruby agreed.

"And…" Opal paused. "We can't tell you everything about Homeworld just yet, but…We're not going to keep everything from you. There are things you need to know."

Steven nodded. Personally, he would like to hear everything then, but the Crystal Gems really did know more than him. They weren't always right (that day being proof), but he trusted them this time. He could wait if he needed to.

He paused.

"But hey…Since we're talking about it, can I ask about something?"

The Crystal Gems nodded.

"Peridot said that this place…This Kindergarten…They made Gems here. Is that true?"

He expected the silence that followed. Ruby clenched and unclenched her fingers. Sapphire pursed her lips. Opal wrapped a pair of arms around her middle.

"Yes," Opal said at last. "It is. But…The way that they did it wasn't right. A lot of the things that they tried to do on Earth wasn't right."

"What do you mean?"

Ruby stepped forward. "The way Gems are made was too costly. If they kept doing it, it would have ruined all life on Earth. Nothing would have made it."

Sapphire added, "So we had to stop them."

Steven fell silent.

Then, his eyes went wide.

Opal frowned. "What?"

Steven licked his dry lips. "Peridot said…She said that Homeworld was going to resume their work."

Instead of silence, heavy breathing filled the air.

Ruby's fists were trembling, her shoulders shaking. She was lined in heat waves. Beside her, Sapphire was hovering her hands around her. Her lips were quivering.

"No," Ruby bit out. Her voice was hoarse. "No, I'm not doing this again. _We aren't doing this again._ "

Opal stood to her toes without a word. She walked across the short bridge to the pyramid platform and looked at the opening above. She was remarkably composed, with her relaxed hands at her sides.

Steven spoke up, "Opal?"

"Everyone over here."

They all obeyed, although a bit slowly. Ruby had finally composed herself, and Sapphire stayed by Steven's side as they walked forward.

When they all came to Opal's side, she pulled them all to her. Sapphire and Ruby both sat on the bends of two elbows, while Steven was held securely with the other two hands.

While Opal bent down in preparation, Steven asked, "Where are we going?"

"To the Galaxy Warp," replied Opal. "I want to make sure that thing is _completely destroyed._ "

She leapt into the air, taking the other Crystal Gems with her.


	25. The Future

Steven threw himself forward. He hit the dirt with a grunt as the walls shut with a _BOOM_ behind him. Laying there, catching his breath, he looked back at them. The one seam that separated them fused together, until there was a single, solid barrier behind him.

"One second longer," he huffed to himself, "and I would have been a Steven-flavored pancake." He paused, thinking. "That actually sounds appetizing."

Beyond the walls around him, he could hear distant grunting and shouting, and the occasional buzzing roar. He couldn't tell which way they came from—the labyrinth had thrown his sense of direction out of whack.

Peridot's arrival at the Kindergarten had put the Crystal Gems on edge. Ruby spent at least an hour a day traveling through the Warp Pads, searching for more Robonoids. Steven was also pretty sure that she traveled the Galaxy Warp every now and then, maybe to smash it up some more.

Opal seemed jumpier than usual. She stiffened when the Warp Pads lit up. If Steven was around when they did, her hands would twitch in his direction. She hugged her arms around herself more often.

Sapphire retreated to her Room more frequently, possibly to use her future vision to see any chance of danger. She was quieter than usual, but in an odd sort of way, she was also more talkative. She would fall into either lapses of silence or bouts of conversation.

But they still had work to do, and plenty of Corrupted Gems to capture. Peridot's presence was made as a lingering threat to be wary of while they dealt with other matters. This was supposed to be a mission for one of said Gems, but it had gotten out of hand quickly. Steven couldn't quite remember what happened. One second, Opal was saying "Don't wake it up, or it'll summon a labyrinth", and the next second, they were in said labyrinth.

He just then realized that he was boxed in with tall, leafy walls. The walls on either side of him then split apart. Steven looked between the two openings and huffed.

"How am I supposed to get out of here if you keep changing like that?" Steven mumbled. As he turned to the path on the left, he huffed, "No one likes cheaters!"

He passed by more turns and walls. He really didn't think that there was a point in trying anymore. He couldn't backtrack, and any kind of marker he'd made was nowhere to be seen. He'd be corralled back to the middle no matter what.

He cupped his hands around his mouth. "O-PAL! RU-BY! SA-PPHIRE!"

He could hear at least two of them still grunting in the distance, but neither responded to him. The Corrupted Gem roared again.

There was a different sound, and Steven could tell that it was close. He turned left and right, and only noticed the wall of stone charging at him when it was ten feet away. He braced himself for impact.

Something grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out of the path. The wall zoomed behind him, and he heard it collide with something solid out of sight.

Sapphire looked down the other paths as Steven caught his breath. The grunting and roaring was growing quieter in the distance.

"Thanks," Steven huffed out. "Hoo, boy, I really need to work on my stamina…"

Sapphire didn't say anything. She had stopped still.

Steven pursed his lips. "Hey, Sapphire? Can't you—?"

"I am," she said. Her fingers were cupped around her forehead.

Steven whispered to himself, "Wow. You knew I was going to ask you to use your future vision _while_ you were using your future vision. That's like… _inceptive future vision."_

Sapphire perked up and turned to him. "Come here."

He stepped to her. "I'm here."

Sapphire placed her hands on his shoulders. Slowly, she said, "Listen to me."

He turned an ear to her. "I'm listening."

"You'll see the way out of here. You need to move fast before anything changes, and don't come back into the labyrinth. We will take care of the Corrupted Gem."

Steven nodded. "I understand, and yet, I am totally confused."

Sapphire leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. A tingling sensation spread throughout his skin, and the image of Sapphire melted away into something else entirely.

 _H_ _ **e**_ _m_ _ **o**_ _v_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **r**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **p**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _s_ _ **a**_ _g_ _ **e**_ _s_ _ **, d**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _r_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _s_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **a**_ _f_ _ **i**_ _x_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **p**_ _a_ _ **t**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _r_ _ **n**_ _._

 _ **F**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _a_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **y**_ _,_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _s_ _ **b**_ _r_ _ **o**_ _k_ _ **e**_ _o_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _. H_ _ **e**_ _j_ _ **u**_ _m_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _r_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **x**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _,_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **s**_ _s_ _ **h**_ _u_ _ **t**_ _b_ _ **e**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _m_ _ **.**_

Steven shook his head. Was that a hallucination? It was almost like one of those dreams where he woke up in the morning, and then he _really_ woke up a minute later. And it looked so weird, too, like he was looking through three eyes. What was that..?

He gasped when he realized. _"Future vision!"_

"Steven, go!"

Sapphire darted down a path without another word.

Steven tried to remember where to go, and a little snippet of the vision returned to him as he did so. He continued like this, darting between the present and the future at Sapphire's instruction. He moved through the passages, dashing through the walls in a fixed pattern.

Finally, the walls broke open. He jumped through the exit, and the walls shut behind him.

Inside, Steven could still hear the others. He guessed that they were closing in on the Corrupted Gem, because the sounds were louder and angrier. He could occasionally hear a soft grunt from Sapphire.

He knew that he was supposed to wait, and while he did so, he thought about the vision he saw.

He hadn't thought much about how future vision worked before, but now he was interested. The vision he saw was somewhat…blurry. Kind of like how an old television begins to go static at the edges. Was that how they always looked?

He tried to summon up the vision again, but he only saw a flicker in his mind's eye. Right…That was in the past now, wasn't it?

He paused, then, deciding to experiment, thought, _Will Ruby come out of the labyrinth in a minute?_

 _ **R**_ _u_ _ **b**_ _y_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **i**_ _d_ _ **d**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _t_ _ **o**_ _f_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **a**_ _b_ _ **y**_ _r_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **.**_ _S_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _a_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _e_ _ **,**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **t**_ _u_ _ **r**_ _n_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **b**_ _a_ _ **c**_ _k_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **x**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _._ _ **N**_ _e_ _ **i**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _O_ _ **p**_ _a_ _ **l**_ _n_ _ **o**_ _r_ _ **S**_ _a_ _ **p**_ _p_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **a**_ _p_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **b**_ _e_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _,_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **e**_ _x_ _ **i**_ _t_ _ **c**_ _l_ _ **o**_ _s_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **u**_ _t_ _ **.**_ _R_ _ **u**_ _b_ _ **y**_ _g_ _ **r**_ _o_ _ **w**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **f**_ _r_ _ **u**_ _s_ _ **t**_ _r_ _ **a**_ _t_ _ **i**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _._

Steven pulled himself back to the present. That vision had been a touch bit blurrier, though not by much. Was it wearing off? And was it right?

Suddenly, Ruby skidded out of the labyrinth. She was alone, and turned back to the exit.

Sapphire exited after her, and the exit closed shut. Ruby growled in frustration, while Sapphire fisted her skirt.

There was a distant _POOM,_ and all of the walls crumbled away to dust and twigs. The three of them stepped back.

Opal stood in the clearing that the labyrinth left behind. She was knelt down in the aftermath of a jump, and was holding something in her hand. The dust settled.

She stood to her toes with a sigh. She Bubbled the Gem, a purple cube with green speckles, and sent it away. She dusted all of her hands off.

"Well," Steven said as he stood to his feet, "That was an exciting eleven minutes, huh? And I never even got to see it."

"Trust me." Opal's face was suddenly cast in dark shadows. "You didn't want to."

Steven blinked.

Ruby clapped her hands together. "Anyway! Let's head back home. I want to go through the Warps again, and I want to make sure everyone's in the same place."

As Ruby and Opal turned in the direction of the Warp Pad, Sapphire came to Steven. As she did, Steven did a quick test. _What is Sapphire most likely going to ask me?_

The vision was blurrier than the others, but he could make it out.

 _ **S**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **m**_ _,_ _ **"**_ _H_ _ **o**_ _w_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **y**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _f_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **l**_ _?_ _ **"**_

She asked him, "How—?"

"I'm fine."

She closed her lips. She was probably surprised, which was…well, a surprise. Didn't she know that he was going to say that?

Eventually, she gave a small, somewhat uneasy smile. "Ah. I see."

"Oh, oh, wait!" Steven pressed his fingers to his temples. Not that he needed to, but for emphasis. "What am I most likely going to say next?"

Sapphire shrugged.

Steven frowned, and his hands dropped back to his sides. "Don't you want to see? I'm just kidding."

"I can't see. You have my future vision."

"Oh…!" Steven ran his fingers over his forehead. "So…You can give me future vision, but you can only _give_ me future vision?"

Sapphire half-nodded, half-shrugged, and waved him forward. They were some ways behind Opal and Ruby, far enough that neither of them could hear their conversation. "It'll wear off eventually."

"Okay." Steven paused, and Sapphire said nothing more.

Closing his eyes, he quickly thought, _Am I going to trip in just a second?_

 _ **H**_ _e_ _ **o**_ _p_ _ **e**_ _n_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _e_ _ **y**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _,_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _s_ _ **a**_ _w_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **a**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **o**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _j_ _ **u**_ _s_ _ **t**_ _b_ _ **r**_ _u_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _a_ _ **g**_ _a_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **o**_ _c_ _ **k**_ _._ _ **H**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _p_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **k**_ _e_ _ **p**_ _t_ _ **g**_ _o_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _._

He hummed to himself. The vision was fuzzy like disrupted static. Was it falling apart because it wasn't technically _his_ future vision? Huh.

He opened his eyes, and saw that his toe was just brushing against a rock. He stepped over it and kept going.

"Hey." He beamed at Sapphire, eyes sparkling. "Can I use the future vision while I have it?"

Sapphire paused. Her lips were pressed together, her fingers curling.

Finally, she nodded. "Sure. But nothing big."

"I won't, I promise." Steven started putting one foot just in front of the other, taking tiny steps. "Baby steps, baby steps…"

"Guuuuys!" Opal waved them over from the Warp Pad where she and Ruby stood. "Come on, let's go!"

He and Sapphire quickly trotted up to them. As the Warp Pad lit underneath them, Steven clasped his hands together and declared, "I have an idea I need to tell you guys! Hear me out: _Personality Pancakes._ "

* * *

When Steven stepped inside the Room, the Temple Door sealed shut behind him. Inside, nothing had changed from the last time he'd visited. There was the same soft teal grass, the same white birch trees, and the same small portal-pond. Sapphire was nowhere to be seen, but Steven had a good idea of where she would be.

He brushed the curtain of feathery vines aside. Sure enough, in the small chamber ahead, Sapphire sat on the cushioned basin in the middle. She had her hands folded in her lap and her head slightly turned down. Steven walked up to her. He gave the basin a weary glance.

"Hey, Sapphire."

Her head lifted at her name. "Hello."

Steven winked at her. "Can you guess what I'm about to say now?"

She paused. "I see several likely scenarios."

"Hm. Well, I'll just go ahead." Steven held up the notepad and pen in his hand. "I wanted to run your Personality Pancake recipe by you."

She nodded.

"But…Since I've already got it written down, can you tell what it is?"

Without missing a beat, she replied, "Blueberry pancakes with white chocolate sauce and glitter sprinkles."

As she spoke, Steven checked the list. When she finished, he smiled. "Yup! Good eye you've got there, pun somewhat intended."

Sapphire nodded, but didn't say anything more.

Steven clicked his tongue. "So…"

"I don't think so."

His jaw snapped shut. He waited for her to explain, but she didn't.

He slowly said, "Can you tell me what I was about to say? Because I honestly wasn't sure myself."

"You were most likely about to ask if you could borrow my future vision again." Sapphire shook her head once. "And I don't think so."

Steven blew a raspberry. She wasn't wrong. The future vision had worn off of him a while ago and had returned to Sapphire. He had been having fun with it! It was cool to guess what was going to happen, and then see if it did or not. But the visions became blurrier and fuzzier until they stopped altogether, and he just wanted to know if maybe he could try it again.

"Not even if I said please?"

Sapphire replied, "I'm sorry, but no."

"What about 'pretty please'?"

"I'm pretty sorry, but no."

"What about…" Steven cleared his throat and sang, _"Pretty ple-e-e-e-e-ase~?"_

" _No-o-o-o-o-o~."_

Steven huffed. "Why not?"

Sapphire paused, then replied, "I know that you were being careful with future vision while you had it, but it's still dangerous."

Steven's brows furrowed. "What's so dangerous about seeing things that may not happen?"

Sapphire's lips pursed. When she spoke, her voice was as calm as always, but it held a sort of far-off tone, like she was talking to both herself and Steven.

"The future isn't just little details. It's not just finding out what the weather will be like or what's going to happen on your favorite television show. Some details are set in stone and will happen inevitably, but most depend on each other. Two choices will become four choices, then twelve, and so on. The future is a river with many turns, and although some currents are stronger than others, they all move. Some currents lead to ponds, others to hurricanes. My ability does not allow me to see which river the boat will drift down, it allows me to see the rivers without moving the boat. The further the boat moves, the more rivers are eliminated. I see what the future can be, and it's not always a lovely sight."

When she finished, silence filled the chamber. Steven's notepad was completely forgotten as he stared up at her.

"I'm pretty sure that's the most I've ever heard you say. Like, ever."

Sapphire shrugged.

Steven hummed. "Well…If I come up with a reason that I actually _need_ future vision, then can I borrow it for a while?"

Sapphire let out a breath. "It has to be a very good reason."

"Of course!"

"But I won't guarantee I'll say yes."

Steven's smile dropped, and he sighed. "Right." He turned on his heel. "Well, I'm going to head out to town for groceries. I need cherries for Ruby Pancakes and sugar pearls for Opal Pancakes. Don't you think sugar pearls fit Opal perfectly?"

For some reason, Sapphire's lips wavered. It was like she was trying not to smile. "Yes, they do."

"I knew it! I'll see you later, Sapph!"

"Wait."

Steven had just turned down the tunnel when she called out to him. She waved him over with one hand, and he obeyed, walking to the edge of the basin. She waved him forward again, so he leaned forward.

Sapphire leaned towards him, opening her lips and raising a finger…

…which she pressed to his nose.

"Boop."

Steven chuckled and pulled back from her. Sapphire gave him a small smile.

"Sapphire, I bet you're just a huge silly-billy under all that calm!"

Sapphire waved her hand in an _'Oh, you!'_ manner.

* * *

Steven lifted his bags up and onto the bench with a grunt. He rolled them down and dug out his notepad. He flipped it open and checked his list.

"Okay! Strawberries."

He looked down at the plastic box of plump pink strawberries.

"Check. Whipped cream."

He turned the cylinder can around so he could see the logo of a white dollop on its front.

"Check. Star sprinkles."

He picked up the small bottle of multicolored, star-shaped dots and gave it a shake.

"Check. White chocolate sauce."

He was missing the bottle.

"Not check."

He looked back at the bags. They were completely empty.

"Also, not check for everything."

He looked left and right. Everything was right in front of him just a second ago, where on earth did they all go?!

He heard the distant, quick pitter-patter of running feet. He turned to its source, and saw a familiar boy with a jacket around his shoulders and a tuft of blonde hair dashing down the boardwalk. His arms were full of Steven's groceries.

"Onion!"

Steven charged after him with a growl. Why did Onion only come around to cause trouble? Where did he come from, anyway?

After a minute of running, Steven wasn't closer to or farther from Onion. Onion was as agile as a cheetah. With every turn and obstacle, he glided around them easily and kept going. Steven was like a one-legged goose on a roller skate in comparison.

Even though his ribs were aching and his breath was running short, Steven kept going. Onion was coming near Funland, and Steven had to catch him before he went in. He still wasn't un-banned from the place.

"Onion! Come on, you don't even eat food! Give it back!"

He ultimately lost. Onion disappeared into Funland and didn't give Steven a glance behind him.

Steven slowed down on the boardwalk leading to Funland's entrance. He put his hands on his knees and huffed for air. Passerby gave him worried looks.

"Really…need…to boost…stamina…" He sank down to his knees, groaning.

He heard a clacking rhythm coming towards him, and he lifted his head to see what it was.

Mr. Smiley was walking out of Funland. He smiled and waved at the guests while he continued to push the wheeled cart in front of him. The cart was holding a tall, rectangular machine painted in swirling cosmos and twinkling stars. Other than the coin slot, the front had a small window. Inside, there was a small, robot-looking thing, made of gray and red metal and grinning from ear to ear. Its round blue eyes were dull as it hung limply in its place.

As he strolled up to Steven, Mr. Smiley, well, smiled down at him. "Hey there, Steven! Don't go running in too fast now, alright? You're still banned for damage to my property."

"I know. That's why I'm out here." Steven stood to his feet and dusted himself off. "Onion stole all of my groceries and ran inside."

Mr. Smiley raised a brow. "I don't think I've ever seen that inexplicable result of nature eat before."

"Me neither! Maybe he's making, like, a bomb or something."

"I surely hope not!" Mr. Smiley chuckled, but his face was pinched tight. "That boy has gotten Funland evacuated for a bomb threat three times and he will _not be doing it again!_ "

"I remember one of those times. It was a dark day in Beach City." Steven sighed nostalgically. After a moment of silent, he pointed up at the machine. "What is that, by the way?"

Mr. Smiley nodded his head at it. "Take a look."

Steven sidestepped to do so. In pointed red letters, 'Future Boy Zoltron' was printed across the top.

"Future Boy Zoltron, huh? This perfectly fits my policy that anything with the letter 'z' is automatically interesting."

"He is. Well, was." Mr. Smiley patted the machine fondly. "I've had Zoltron here for years, but it seems he's lost his touch."

Steven hummed. "Have you tried plugging and unplugging him?"

"Several times. He doesn't work even when he's plugged in."

"What about when he's not?"

Mr. Smiley shrugged and gestured Steven forward. Steven dug into his back pocket and pulled out a quarter. He slid it into the slot, and he heard it tink down inside, but nothing happened immediately.

Then, in the span of five seconds, Zoltron shot up straight and buzzed out, _"YOUR LUCKY NUMBERS TODAY ARE I SEE GOOD FORTUNE IN YOUR FUTURE PLEASE SLIDE IN ANOTHER QUARTER FOR AN ANSWER TIME IS AN ILLUSION!"_

Then he went limp again.

Mr. Smiley and Steven blinked at the machine, disturbed.

Steven groaned, "Guess I just wasted a quarter. _And_ the ten plus dollars I spent on groceries."

"Sorry 'bout that, Steven. I'd offer you a job, but uh…" Mr. Smiley winked and snapped his fingers at Steven. "You're banned!"

"Thank yoooooo—" Steven's eyes trailed from Mr. Smiley to Zoltron. "—ooooooh wait! If Zoltron's out of order, does that mean you need a new fortune-teller?"

Mr. Smiley nodded. "Indeed."

"I can set up a fortune-telling stand out here!" Steven waved his hand, spreading an image. "The Great Stevzini! The captain of the future's boat!"

"I don't know…" Mr. Smiley murmured. "Doesn't sound like a solid business plan to me."

"I can give you fifty percent of what I get!"

Mr. Smiley paused. Eventually, however, he exclaimed, "Deal!"

Mr. Smiley paused again, then frowned. "Still…You'd have to get a stand permit to legally be here, and that could take a while."

Suddenly, there was a distant _BOOM._ A great cloud of smoke shot up from the highest bowl on the Ferris wheel. More lifted into the air, and Steven could just make out the slight orange flickering of a fire. A familiar tuft of blonde hair peeked over the top of the bowl, then the top of the whipped cream can.

Mr. Smiley blanched. He took off running into Funland, calling over his shoulder, "GO AHEAD AND SET UP, STEVEN! I GOT OTHER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT!"

Steven cupped his hands around his mouth and replied, _"Thank you!"_

Then, suddenly, a black van pulled up beside Steven with a squeal. As men in armored black suits piled out of the van, the guests of Funland came running out onto the boardwalk, and there were screams of "Run, run, run!"

* * *

Steven threw the door to his Room open. Inside, Sapphire sat on a stool at the kitchen island. She had her hands folded in her lap, as always.

"Sapphire! You knew I was coming and waited for me, weren't you?"

Sapphire paused. "Not really. I was just sitting here."

"Oh. Well, I have great news!"

Sapphire paused. "Funland was evacuated for a bomb threat?"

"Wha—No. There's nothing great about that. I have a reason to use future vision!"

Sapphire said nothing.

"Mr. Smiley needs a new fortuneteller at Funland! And I can give people actual future predictions! For money! And then we can make pancakes!"

Sapphire said nothing. Wearily.

Steven sighed. "Hear me out! What if someone actually needs to be told the future? What if it can help them with their problems, or even save their lives? Like, what if a police officer is about to go on a big heist and he might be robbed by the Cream Snatchers if he's not careful and I—"

Sapphire held up a hand to stop him. "This isn't the reason that I had in mind."

"Still, it's a reason, right? And a decent one."

Sapphire pursed her lips.

Steven frowned. "Do you not want me using future vision because you don't think I can? I mean, you totally have a point, but I promise I won't abuse it! I know great power comes with great responsibility."

"It's not that," said Sapphire. "There are things in the future that I would rather you not see."

Steven tipped his head to the side. "But you use future vision all the time, so don't you see them?"

Sapphire opened and closed her lips. For once, she was stumped for a response.

"Please?" Steven begged. "I'm—" He tried to lower himself to the floor, and his knees hit the wood with audible thumps. "Ow. I'm on my knees!"

Sapphire's fingers curled in her lap. Steven wished he could see her face right then, to get some kind of idea of what she was thinking. The room was silent.

Finally, slowly, she spoke, "You have to be specific."

He stood up to his feet. His face was about to split apart with his smile. "Yes!"

"Don't look for two things at once."

"I won't!"

"If you see anything that upsets you, _stop._ Don't go any further."

"I won't!" He was dancing on his feet.

They both leaned to each other. Sapphire pressed her lips to Steven's forehead, and he felt a familiar tingling sensation spread through his skull, but it didn't feel as uncomfortable this time around.

"Thanks, Sapphire! I promise you, I won't abuse this power."

"I know you won't. Be careful."

Steven sighed, but smiled. "I _will—"_

"I mean at Funland. Bomb threat."

"Oh, right. I will. I'll bring my gasmask just to be safe."

* * *

Steven pressed one last gold star to the poster. The whole thing was covered in stars, sparkles, and swirls like galaxies. Shimmering silver letters read _The Amazing Stevzini: Captain of the Future's Boat - $1 Per Question!_

He taped the poster to the front of the table with two more stars and stepped back to admire his work. The table was set just outside the Funland entrance, draped in a dark blue cloth. The only things on the table were the money-box and a crystal ball.

Satisfied, Steven walked around the table to his costume. He wrapped a sparkly blue cloth with a jewel around his head and tied a matching cape around his shoulders. He'd also put on some eyeliner for aesthetic purposes, and he had done...fair. Fair enough.

He cleared his throat. When he spoke, he dragged out the vowels and rolled his tongue, trying to sound...Magic-ish. "Come, one and all, to the Amazing Stevzini~! If you have a question about your future, only I can provide the answer~! Come~!"

A few people passing by gave him a glance. One or two chuckled good-naturedly. Steven held his pose.

He heard footsteps coming, but only noticed the person when he was three feet away from Steven.

Ronaldo threw his hands down on the table, and Steven scurried to grab the crystal ball before it toppled over. Ronaldo had his phone in one hand, recording him, and was staring down at him intensely.

"What is this?!" he demanded.

Steven cleared his throat and put his mysterious smirk back on. "I am the Amazing Stevzini~! If you want to know where your choices will (most likely) lead, ask me~! One dollar per question~!"

Ronaldo narrowed his eyes at him, and although he didn't put the phone down, his hand went to his back pocket.

He set four quarters on the table, and while Steven scooped him up, Ronaldo hissed, "I'll play your game, Stevzini. _I'll play_."

"Very good~. Please, be specific about your question~!"

Ronaldo pursed his lips thoughtfully. His fingers drummed on the table. A few passerby glanced over in interest.

Finally, Ronaldo said, "Just so I know that you aren't some fake wizard trying to steal my money..." He paused, looking aside. _"Again."_ He continued, "Tell me: What is going to happen _right now_?"

Steven cupped his hands around the crystal ball, closed his eyes, and thought hard. _What is most likely going to happen right now?_

 _ **A**_ _s_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **g**_ _u_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **s**_ _w_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _w_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **o**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **t**_ _a_ _ **b**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _,_ _ **l**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **g**_ _e_ _ **.**_ _I_ _ **t**_ _b_ _ **l**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _k_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _s_ _ **q**_ _u_ _ **a**_ _w_ _ **k**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _a_ _ **t**_ _R_ _ **o**_ _n_ _ **a**_ _l_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **,**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **u**_ _g_ _ **i**_ _t_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **o**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _s_ _ **w**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g_ _ **.**_

Steven pulled himself out of the vision and straightened himself up. Ronaldo had his fingers curled on the table.

"I predict that an avian creature will come down from the sky and turn to you~!" He held his arms wide when he finished.

Nothing immediately came. For a moment, embarrassment burned in his cheeks. Maybe he should have made it clearer that the future wasn't one-hundred percent set in—

A seagull swooped down to the table, landing on the edge. It blinked and squawked at Ronaldo, then dug its head into its wing.

Ronaldo stared down at the seagull for a long second...then suddenly yelped and leaped back as if the table were on fire. The seagull, startled, took to the air again.

 _"It's real! It's real!"_ Ronaldo's fingers typed furiously on his phone, surely too fast for every word to be spelled right. He turned to the people behind him, who all jumped back. _"He's a real wizard! He knows the future, I saw it myself!"_ His eyes turned left, and he pointed a finger. "Cool Kid Trio, wait!"

Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck all paused at the entrance of Funland. Jenny stopped mid-sentence, while Sour Cream lifted his head from his phone. Buck just turned to Ronaldo.

"You have to ask the Amazing Stevzini a question! He's real, I tell you!"

The Cool Kids turned to Steven, who winked back at them. He gave his cape a flick.

Jenny giggled and stepped forward. Buck and Sour Cream flanked her, and Ronaldo stepped aside, but kept recording on his phone.

"Alright, I'll do it." Jenny raised a brow, smirking. "Any rules?"

"Be specific, be soon, and be aware that not every outcome is guaranteed~! My third eye only sees which turn the river will most likely take, not the definite one~!"

Jenny nodded. "Gotcha. Okay, sooooo...What am I about to do right now?"

Steven cupped the crystal ball and thought about it.

 _ **A**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _p_ _ **u**_ _t_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **r**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _q_ _ **u**_ _a_ _ **r**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _r_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _p_ _ **a**_ _l_ _ **m**_ _,_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _f_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _l_ _ **i**_ _p_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _,_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _e_ _ **f**_ _e_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _b_ _ **o**_ _a_ _ **r**_ _d_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **l**_ _k_ _ **.**_ _I_ _ **t**_ _d_ _ **i**_ _s_ _ **a**_ _p_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **a**_ _c_ _ **r**_ _a_ _ **c**_ _k_ _ **.**_

Steven wiggled his fingers with his eyes closed. "I predict that you are about to pay a dollar for your question..."

"Oh!" Jenny dug into her pocket with a chuckle. "Right, I forgot. My b—"

"But! You will drop a quarter as you do!"

Jenny paused with three quarters in one hand and the other in her back pocket. "Well, that's really specific, ain't it—?"

As she put the fourth quarter into her palm, her fingers slipped, and one fell to the boardwalk. It disappeared into a crack.

Jenny blinked down at it, stunned. Ronaldo's trembling hands gripped his phone tightly. Sour Cream and Buck shared a glance. Jenny turned back to Steven, who winked at her.

A smile spread across her face. Digging for another quarter, she sang, "Okaaaaay! I'm impressed. I'm in. Sour Cream, you try."

She passed her quarters to Steven as Sour Cream took her place.

He passed Steven a dollar. "What are in my pockets right now?"

 _ **S**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _r_ _ **C**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **m**_ _p_ _ **u**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _p_ _ **a**_ _i_ _ **r**_ _o_ _ **f**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **r**_ _p_ _ **h**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _,_ _ **s**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _e g_ _ **u**_ _m_ _ **w**_ _r_ _ **a**_ _p_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _s_ _ **,**_ _a_ _ **f**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _c_ _ **o**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _s_ _ **,**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _s_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _t_ _ **,**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **y**_ _o_ _ **-**_ _y_ _ **o**_ _f_ _ **r**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _s_ _ **p**_ _o_ _ **c**_ _k_ _ **e**_ _t_ _ **s**_ _._ _ **H**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _p_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **a**_ _d_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _m_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **t**_ _a_ _ **b**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _._

Steven cleared his throat. "Tangled black earphones, silver wrappers of chewing gum, shining coins of silver and copper, an old leather wallet, and a fashionable yo-yo, I predict~!"

Everyone turned to Sour Cream expectantly. He shrugged and dug into the pockets of his orange pants.

Sour Cream pulled out a pair of entangled earphones, some gum wrappers, a few coins, his wallet, and a red yo-yo from his pockets. He spread them out on the table.

Jenny squealed and Ronaldo whooped. Sour Cream blinked, then gave Steven a thumbs-up and a smile.

Ronaldo turned to the small group of people that Steven hadn't noticed before. "Everyone, come here! He can really tell the future!"

The people shrugged and stepped forward, forming a line around the table. Buck stood at the front, and as he passed over a dollar, Steven tried to hide a smile. He knew this was a good idea!

* * *

The Amazing Stevzini quickly became the new fad of Beach City. Forget about the bomb threat at Funland— _this_ was interesting!

Within an hour, Steven had a line of at least twelve people at the table. They all gave a dollar, asked a question, got their answer, and moved aside for the next person. Some went back to the end of the line to go again. Ronaldo had become Steven's cameraman of sorts, taping every question and every answer.

Steven saw several familiar faces during the day, and some unfamiliar ones: Mr. Fryman, Nanafua, Yellowtail, and so on. Even Onion stopped by at some point...but he didn't ask a question, he just left a pineapple ring on the table and kept walking.

Steven supplied the answers as best as he could.

To Sadie: "I'm sure that your romantic turmoil will work out eventually~! Just remember that everyone is flawed, and some people are more flawed than others~!"

To a woman with a snarling dog in her purse: "Spray your furniture with acidic juices so Mr. Sprinkles will stop chewing on them~! Also, I suggest signing Mr. Sprinkles up for behavior training~!"

To a tall, gangly fellow: "Your house isn't haunted, you're just lonely~!"

The questions came and went, and at one point, Mr. Smiley was standing in front of him. He, of course, smiled at Steven.

"Hey, Stevzini! How's business going?"

"Very well~!" He opened the money-box on the table and turned it to Mr. Smiley. "I believe I have around seventy dollars in here~!"

Mr. Smiley winked at him. "Technically thirty-five dollars, once I get my fifty percent!"

"...Right~! Such is the way that economy works~."

Mr. Smiley nodded, winked, and stepped out of the line. A redheaded girl with a spattering of freckles across her face—Steven recognized her as one of the employees at the theater—took Mr. Smiley's place.

Wringing her hands, she shyly asked, "How will _Hime Warriors III_ end?"

Steven hovered his hands around the crystal ball, as always, and summoned up a vision.

 _ **P**_ _r_ _ **in**_ _ce s_ _ **s**_ _Sei_ _ **ko**_ _tu_ _ **r**_ _n e_ _ **d**_ _t o_ _ **h**_ _ **er**_ _s i_ _ **s**_ _t e r . ._ _ **.**_

Steven frowned and pulled out of the vision. It had been going fine for the first half-hour of his work, but after that, it gradually fell apart. Now it was just images of colored blurs with warbled sounds.

He smiled up at the girl apologetically. "The Amazing Stevzini advises you to keep your money~. It seems that my third eye is exhausted and needs to regain celestial energy before I can answer any more questions~."

Of course, everyone in the line sighed in disappointment. Steven quickly put up a sparkly 'ON BREAK' sign on the table.

"I will be back in an hour at most~!"

He swirled his cloak around him and took off running down the Boardwalk. Well, he lost his stamina halfway again, but he just flicked his cloak again and kept going.

Ronaldo turned to the redheaded girl. "Tell me, which _Hime Warriors_ game do you consider to be the best? Cause if you say _Hime Warriors Nobility,_ we're going to have to have a long talk."

* * *

Steven pushed the door to his Room open. On the other side, Opal stood on the Warp Pad with two arms crossed, two hands on her hips, and her toe tapping impatiently. The fridge door was open, and Ruby was rummaging around inside. Sapphire wasn't to be seen.

"Hey," Steven said. "What's up?"

"Hey, Steven," greeted Opal. She looked him up and down. She winked, clicked her tongue, and pointed a finger at him. "Nice!"

Steven mimicked the gesture with both hands. "Thanks!"

"Hey, Steven!" Ruby pulled out of the fridge. One of her arms held a stick of butter, a carton of milk, and a pack of cheese slices. As she grabbed yogurt from the fridge door, she asked, "Where's the cottage cheese?"

Steven frowned. "What do you need cottage cheese for?"

" _There's no time! The cheese, dang it!"_

"I-I think it's on the middle shelf, near the back!"

While Ruby turned back to the fridge, Steven turned back to Opal. "Again, what's going on?"

"Right! I forgot. Ruby and I are headed out for another mission."

"What about Sapphire?"

"She said she needed to stay for some reason." Opal shrugged. "No clue."

"Alright!" Ruby dashed over to the Warp Pad with her armful of dairy products. She dropped a bowl of sour cream, and almost toppled over picking it up. "Let's go!"

"We need to go right now," Opal told Steven. "We left money on the counter if you need to get more dairy stuff!"

Steven gave them a "Thanks!" just as the Warp Pad lit to life. Opal and Ruby's forms blurred, and when the lights vanished, they were gone.

Just a moment later, the Temple Door lit up in a bluish-white glow. It disappeared into nothing, and Sapphire stepped out from the space it left behind. The Temple Door reappeared behind her.

"Hey, Sapphire! Good news: the business is going great! By the time I'm done, we're not just going to have Personality Pancakes; we're going to have Personality Pancakes with top-notch ingredients. I'm talking name brand!"

Sapphire's lips pursed once. "My future vision is back."

"Yeah." Steven pulled the wrap from his head and bundled it together in his hands. "Sooo…Can I have it again? Unless you need it right now."

Sapphire paused. "I don't think so."

"Okay." Steven popped his lips. "Can I ask why?"

"I don't think I should have given it to you to begin with." Sapphire let out a breath of air. "You can't handle it."

"Can't handle what?" Steven crossed his arms over his chest, not angrily. "I told you, a couple of weird pictures aren't going to hurt me. I saw the _Crying Breakfast Friends_ pilot episode, you know."

"Steven…" Sapphire brushed a hand over her bangs. "The future can go ways that you don't want to know."

"But you seem the future all the time, don't you? Why is it okay for you to see it, but not me? I promise, Sapphire." Steven put a hand over his heart. "I'm tougher than I look."

Sapphire paused. When she spoke, her voice was low, serious.

" _The future is not a thing  
For you to see.  
Believe me when I say  
You don't want to be me."_

Steven shook his head with a smile. He stepped forward and clapped a hand on Sapphire's shoulder.

" _Hey, now,  
No need to get tense.  
I know the future  
Doesn't always make sense,  
But believe me when I say  
I can handle whatever comes my way.  
You don't have to worry  
About little 'ol me."_

Sapphire clasped her hands together. _"I know you."_

Steven winked at her. _"You know me."_

" _I know you care."_

" _Is it hard to see?"_

Sapphire put her opposite hand on his shoulder.

" _But believe me when I say  
The future can sometimes go astray—"_

Steven cut her off.

" _But you don't have to worry  
About little 'ol me."_

Sapphire pursed her lips again. Shaking his head, Steven stepped back, waving his hands.

" _I think you're underestimating  
This amazing ability.  
Don't you know all the awesome things  
That only you can see?_

 _You can predict the weather!"_

Sapphire scoffed shortly. _"I can see better."_

" _You can see unaired TV!"_

She shrugged. _"Nothing on for me."_

" _Journeys through the desert!"_

" _Someone's going to get hurt."_

" _Adventures underwater!"_

" _Horrifying slaughter."_

Steven didn't even hear what she said, too absorbed in his fantasies.

" _Saving spires!"_

 _"Burning fire."_

" _Tough terrain!"_

 _"Blinding pain."_

 _"Fighting guards!"  
_

" _Scattered shards."_

 _"Setting sail!"_

Steven finally paused for her reply. However, what she said caught him entirely off guard.

 _"I failed.  
Waited too late,  
Made a mistake,  
All alone,  
Should've known.  
It'll be all my fault-!"_

Sapphire stopped herself with a quick breath of air. Her fingers were curled in the skirt of her dress, her arms stiff.

Slowly, she eased down. She turned to Steven, staring at her wide-eyed. She reached out to him, cupping his elbows with her hands.

" _From now on,  
Please don't ask.  
This ability  
Is no easy task.  
I don't want you to worry  
About little ol' me."_

Steven sighed. With Sapphire's hands still at his elbows, he said, "Sapphire, I'm not going to force you to give me your future vision. I'm not trying to. But really, I can take it. And I'm not looking that far into the future. And hey, if you don't like having future vision so much, why don't you lend it to me for a while?"

Sapphire pulled back from him, lowering her head. As her arms fell to her sides, Steven wondered how she felt right then. Was she considering it? Or was she just annoyed?

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead. By the time the tingling had stopped, Sapphire had already disappeared back into her Room.

* * *

Steven returned to the Funland entrance with his future vision restored. He put his head-wrap back on and put his Stevzini persona back to use. He answered more questions, but in-between, he continued to think about Sapphire.

On one hand, he felt bad for how their conversation had turned out. He hadn't meant to force Sapphire into giving him future vision again, he'd just meant to ask for it if she was willing to. On the other hand, he really was being careful. If there was something so terrible about seeing the future, he had yet to find out what it was. What was Sapphire so worried about, again?

He snapped out of his thoughts when Ronaldo once again stepped forward to the table. Steven really wished he'd take a break for at least a little while. Ronaldo had been running on coffee all day, and his fingers were trembling.

"Okay, Stev…" Ronaldo paused, his eyes blinking slowly. "Stevzinger, I have another question!"

Steven nodded. "Continue~!"

Ronaldo slapped another bill onto the table. "Tomorrow night, it has been predict…predictum…preducked that there will be a meteor shower. Is this right?"

Steven closed his eyes and swirled a hand around the crystal ball. "Let me see~!"

 _ **O**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **o**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **w**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _m_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **b**_ _r_ _ **i**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **y**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **.**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **k**_ _s_ _ **o**_ _f_ _ **w**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **l**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **b**_ _e_ _ **t**_ _w_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **s**_ _._

 _ **O**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **o**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **w**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _m_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **b**_ _r_ _ **i**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **y**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **.**_ _E_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **i**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _._

 _ **O**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **o**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **w**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _m_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **b**_ _r_ _ **i**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **y**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **c**_ _l_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **d**_ _y_ _ **.**_ _G_ _ **r**_ _a_ _ **y**_ _c_ _ **u**_ _r_ _ **t**_ _a_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **s**_ _b_ _ **l**_ _u_ _ **r**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _m_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _'_ _ **s**_ _i_ _ **m**_ _a_ _ **g**_ _e_ _ **.**_

 _ **O**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **o**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **w**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _m_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **b**_ _r_ _ **i**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **y**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **.**_ _E_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _B_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **c**_ _h_ _ **C**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _y_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _b_ _ **u**_ _r_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g._ _ **T**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _n_ _ **i**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **o**_ _t_ _ **o**_ _r_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _e_ _ **.**_

Steven snapped himself back to the present. The last image…that was…He didn't want to say that it scared him, it just really took him by surprise. What was that about?

Ronaldo was still watching him. Everyone was waiting for his answer.

"Um…" Steven cleared his throat. "It seems that a meteor shower is to come, but we may not be able to see it~!"

Everyone nodded and shrugged, with a few murmurs of "Fair enough." Ronaldo nodded.

Then, he took out another b—Well, actually, it was a crumpled-up napkin, but Ronaldo continued before Steven could point it out. "Okay! Now…now-now…Wh-What is going to air on television in three days, eight AM at night, on channel two-nine-three…four. Two-nine-four, not…two…thousand…"

While Ronaldo blinked slowly again, a guy in the line leaned forward. "Hey, get back in line! We have actual questions!"

Steven raised a hand and waved for him to calm down. "At ease, my friend~! All questions are good questions~! A moment, please~."

 _ **A**_ _t_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **'**_ _c_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **c**_ _k_ _ **a**_ _t_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ **C** o **r** k **a** n **d** C **i** n **d** y _**r**_ _o_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _s_ _ **c**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _o_ _ **f**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _'_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _v_ _ **i**_ _s_ _ **i**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _'_ _ **s**_ _R_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _._ _ **E**_ _v_ _ **e**_ _r_ _ **y**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _d_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **k**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **i**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _._

 _ **A**_ _t_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **'**_ _c_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **c**_ _k_ _ **a**_ _t_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ **M** a **r** v **e** l **o** u **s** B **l** a **c** k **C** a **t**! _**r**_ _o_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _s_ _ **c**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _o_ _ **f**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _'_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _v_ _ **i**_ _s_ _ **i**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _'_ _ **s**_ _R_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _._ _ **O**_ _n_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **i**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _. T_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _l_ _ **a**_ _u_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **R**_ _o_ _ **o**_ _m_ _ **.**_

 _ **A**_ _t_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **'**_ _c_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **c**_ _k_ _ **a**_ _t_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _s_ _ **c**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _o_ _ **f**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _'_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _v_ _ **i**_ _s_ _ **i**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _'_ _ **s**_ _R_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **o**_ _f_ _ **f.**_ _A_ _ **s**_ _i_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _i_ _ **l**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **c**_ _e_ _ **.**_ _E_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **g**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _._ _ **S**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _e_ _ **o**_ _n_ _ **e**_ _c_ _ **a**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _s_ _ **n**_ _a_ _ **m**_ _e_ _ **.**_

Steven pulled out of the vision too quickly. His head spun, and he stumbled out of his chair, a hand to his forehead.

Ronaldo and a few of the people in line frowned. Ronaldo put the phone down and worriedly ask, "Are you okay?"

"Um…" Steven shook his head. "I…I'm sorry, but the Amazing Stevzini is…um…I have to go."

He grabbed the money-box and stumbled away. The people watched him go, all with furrowed brows and worried frowns.

* * *

Steven put the money-box on the counter with a shaky sigh. His forehead was tingling again, but it was different. Before, it was like his forehead was asleep, but now, it felt like needles dancing over his skin.

Something was wrong. Was this what Sapphire was talking about? He had been so careful. He couldn't understand what he had seen, but it made him dizzy. It made his stomach churn.

Opal and Ruby were probably still out, but hadn't Sapphire stayed behind? Or had she followed?

Steven almost tripped over the Warp Pad as he came to the Temple Door. It took his concentration and all of his strength, but he managed to get the Door to activate. His and Sapphire's gemstones lit up, and the door disappeared.

In what seemed like two seconds, he had walked through the miniature forest and into Sapphire's chamber. She wasn't sitting in her basin, and there was no way that Steven was about to check underneath it.

Steven paused. Sapphire was in a definite place right now, so he might be able to find her.

He squeezed his eyes shut and thought, _Where is Sapphire right now?_

 _ **S**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _ **t**_ _u_ _ **r**_ _n_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **d**_ _l_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **t**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **r**_ _i_ _ **g**_ _h_ _ **t**_ _,_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **o**_ _k_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _f_ _ **o**_ _r_ _ **—**_

 _ **S**_ _a_ _ **p**_ _p_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **g**_ _r_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **w**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **a**_ _c_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _f_ _ **d**_ _u_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **.**_ _ **S**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **o**_ _p_ _ **e**_ _n_ _ **f**_ _i_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **f**_ _s_ _ **o**_ _m_ _ **e**_ _s_ _ **o**_ _r_ _ **t**_ _._ _ **S**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **c**_ _e_ _ **b**_ _e_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _,_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _e_ _ **k**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _f_ _ **p**_ _y_ _ **r**_ _a_ _ **m**_ _i_ _ **d**_ _s_ _ **t**_ _r_ _ **u**_ _c_ _ **t**_ _u_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _i_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **q**_ _u_ _ **a**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **r**_ _._ _ **S**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _e_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **l**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **b**_ _e_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **S**_ _a_ _ **p**_ _p_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **,**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _t_ _ **u**_ _r_ _ **n**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _—_

Steven groaned and pulled himself back. He didn't know what was going on, but in that image, Sapphire was obviously being hurt. He didn't want to go back to that. He didn't want to go to any visions anymore.

"Ok, just…Try to relax. Don't think about it."

He stumbled his way back into his Room, and as he did, a wave of nausea crashed over him. His stomach was swimming, his ears were ringing. He couldn't think straight.

 _ **T**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **i**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _t_ _ **f**_ _i_ _ **x**_ _t_ _ **u**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **c**_ _e_ _ **i**_ _l_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _f_ _ **e**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _w_ _ **n**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _t_ _ **o**_ _S_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _—_

Steven reeled backwards from underneath the light. Even with him away, it didn't budge an inch. He swallowed dryly.

 _ **T**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **l**_ _o_ _ **o**_ _r_ _ **u**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _n_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _f_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **t**_ _c_ _ **r**_ _u_ _ **m**_ _b_ _ **l**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _._ _ **H**_ _e_ _ **f**_ _e_ _ **l**_ _l_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **r**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _g_ _ **h**_ _—_

Steven reeled back…then realized that he was on the floor no matter where he stepped. He kept reeling backwards, though, until he stumbled into the fridge. His stomach was still churning.

 _ **T**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _f_ _ **r**_ _i_ _ **d**_ _g_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **o**_ _o_ _ **r**_ _f_ _ **l**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _o_ _ **p**_ _e_ _ **n**_ _._ _ **H**_ _u_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _s_ _ **o**_ _f_ _ **c**_ _r_ _ **a**_ _b_ _ **s**_ _p_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _t_ _ **a**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _d_ _ **u**_ _g_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _i_ _ **r**_ _p_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **c**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _s_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **t**_ _o_ _ **S**_ _t_ _ **e**_ _v_ _ **e**_ _n_ _ **'**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **—**_

Steven paused, eyebrows furrowed. Slowly, awkwardly, he pulled the fridge door open. Not a single crab came out.

"…Okay, that one was just weird."

 _ **T**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _c_ _ **e**_ _i_ _ **l**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _g_ _ **c**_ _a_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **n,**_ _c_ _ **r**_ _u_ _ **s**_ _h_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _—_

Steven made a beeline for the door. He couldn't find his balance, but he didn't stop to think. He pulled it open and ran outside to the deck—

 _ **T**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **e**_ _c_ _ **k**_ _c_ _ **o**_ _l_ _ **l**_ _a_ _ **p**_ _s_ _ **e**_ _d_ _ **—**_

"Alright, I get it!"

Steven ran all the way down the steps to the sand below. Once there, he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath, so hot in his throat.

He looked up with burning, watery eyes. It was late evening now, and the sun was setting over the ocean—

 _ **T**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _s_ _ **u**_ _n_ _ **e**_ _r_ _ **u**_ _p_ _ **t**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _a_ _ **b**_ _l_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **t**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _a_ _ **t**_ _c_ _ **o**_ _n_ _ **s**_ _u_ _ **m**_ _e_ _ **d**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _k_ _ **y**_ _—_

Steven's head spun left and right. Okay, technically, he couldn't outrun the sun, but he just didn't want to look at it anymore! He needed to get away!

He ran to the right. He rounded around the Temple's side to the strip of beach that ran ahead. It held the remains of the old docks and led to Funland, but he wasn't heading to either of them.

He spied the cave in the cliff side, a mile or so down. It was a round hole in the rock with jagged stones dotted around its mouth, like teeth. He kept running towards it, trying not to think about the sunlight behind him or the burning in his chest.

"Alright," he told himself through huffs of breath. "Just…Just try not to think about it. Try not to think about anything…No, that's impossible. Just…don't think about the future."

 _ **H**_ _e_ _ **w**_ _a_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _r_ _ **o**_ _w_ _ **n**_ _a_ _ **r**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _n_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **n**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **d**_ _i_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **c**_ _t_ _ **i**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _._ _ **H**_ _e_ _ **c**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _l_ _ **d**_ _o_ _ **n**_ _l_ _ **y**_ _s_ _ **e**_ _e_ _ **f**_ _l_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _o_ _ **f**_ _c_ _ **o**_ _l_ _ **o**_ _r_ _ **,**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _w_ _ **a**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _o_ _ **m**_ _u_ _ **c**_ _h_ _ **p**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _s_ _ **s**_ _u_ _ **r**_ _e_ _ **o**_ _n_ _ **h**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _c_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **,**_ _a_ _ **n**_ _d_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **c**_ _o_ _ **u**_ _l_ _ **d**_ _n_ _ **'**_ _t_ _ **b**_ _r_ _ **e**_ _a_ _ **t**_ _h_ _ **e**_ _—_

Steven growled and forced himself back to his senses. He glared up at his forehead, going cross-eyed. "Ugh! I trusted you!"

In surprisingly little time, he finally came to the cave. He pulled himself up into the mouth, legs kicking. The rock was slick, and a jagged edge sliced into his hand. He felt the line of stinging pain across his palm, but kept going.

The inside of the cave was moist and dark, with tight, uneven walls. He stumbled forward blindly. He didn't care where he was going or what he was doing; he just needed to get _away._

At some point, the sunlight turned into little more than a faint glow. Steven kept squeezing and pushing his way through the cave mouth regardless. His stomach had settled, but his heart was pounding like a jackhammer.

Eventually, he couldn't move any further. It was too dark, too cramped, too everything. He sank down with his legs to his chest and tried to breathe.

Everything felt so tight. He felt like he was being crushed in a giant fist, he couldn't breathe.

All the while, his forehead continued to burn.

 **S** t **e** v **e** n **j** u **m** p **e** d **a** n **d** r **o** l **l** e **d** o **u** t **o** f **t** h **e** b **o** u **l** d **e** r' **s** p **a** t **h**. H **e** s **l** i **d** a **c** r **o** s **s** t **h** e **r** o **u** g **h** f **l** o **o** r **,** g **r** i **t** t **i** n **g** h **i** s **t** e **e** t **h** w **h** e **n** h **i** s **t** e **n** d **e** r **,** r **a** w **s** k **i** n **w** a **s** s **c** r **a** p **e** d **.** H **e** p **u** l **l** e **d** h **i** m **s** e **l** f **t** o **h** i **s** e **l** b o **w** s—

 **H** e **p** u **l** l **e** d **a** n **d** s **t** r **u** g **g** l **e** d a **s** h **a** r **d** a **s** h **e** c **o** u **l** d **.** I **t** w **a** s **n** o **u** s **e**. H **e** w **a** s **t** r **a** p **p** e **d**. **H** e **l** o **c** k **e** d **g** a **z** e **s** w **i** t **h** y **e** l **l** o **w** e **y** e **s** —

 **T** h **o** u **s** a **n** d **s** o **f** h **a** n **d** s **r** e **a** c **h** e **d** o **u** t **f** o **r** h **i** m **—**

Steven gasped for air. His eyes were wide, but he couldn't see his hands in front of his face. He heard low rumbling and a constant pitter-pattering. There was rain somewhere, but he couldn't see it. How long was he in there?

No more visions came to his mind's eye. His stomach eased and his temperature settled, but he continued to shake.

"I should just stay here," he whispered to himself. "Where no one and nothing can hurt me." He paused and swallowed. "Unless this place caves in. I don't even care anymore…"

He hated how hopeless he sounded and felt, but he knew that there was no point anymore. What he had once thought to be marvelous was haunting him. Every step he took, every breath he breathed could hurt him and everyone else. There was no point anymore, he was powerless.

Something moved in the darkness, and his tired eyes moved up. Tiny slivers of light were peeking through the air. Silvery light, or was it blue?

As it intensified, he knew that it was definitely bright blue. The shafts and been faded and flickered as its source moved about. Steven heard approaching movement.

He drew his knees tight to his chest and held his breath. He didn't even know what was coming anymore; he just wanted it to go away so it couldn't hurt him.

"Steven?"

He was so closed in that he wasn't sure if he heard it right. He waited.

"Steven?"

No, that was definitely a voice calling his name. He crept forward, hands blindly sliding over rock and stone. It took him a moment, but he realized that in his vision-caused stupor, a few of the rocks inside the cave had fallen. He wasn't trapped, but the way he came was crowded together. Small spaces peeked between the rocks.

The blue light peeked between them, until it only came from one hole at the top of the pile. A blue Gem in a gloved palm was shining the beam like a flashlight. The palm turned left and right like a lighthouse, as if calling Steven toward it.

"Steven!" the voice called again. It echoed down the tunnels.

"Sapphire?"

"Steven." She sighed, and the blue light stilled. He used it to creep closer to the wall dividing him. "What are you doing in there?"

"I…I don't know."

She paused. The light moved behind the rocks. "I'll move these real quick and get you out. Stay back."

He heard a quiet _shing_ sound of her knuckledusters appearing.

"No! Don't!"

There was a moment of silence and stillness. "What?"

"Just go away and leave me alone! I just want to stay here!"

"You can't…stay in the cave, Steven."

"I can and I will! I'll live in the darkness and drink the water off the rocks."

He ran a finger over a moist stone and licked it with confidence. Confidence that he quickly realized was misplaced at the bitter, grimy taste on his tongue. He spat and sputtered.

"Steven, just—"

"No! It's way better in here than it is out there!" He took in a shuddering breath. "You were right, okay? You were right! Seeing the future stinks! It's terrible and I shouldn't have asked you for it!"

She didn't reply, so Steven continued.

"I don't want to know about the future anymore! What's the point in doing anything if you can be hurt just like that? Anything I do can hurt someone! It can hurt _everyone!_ A-and I don't know what's worse: knowing that what you do will hurt someone or _not_ knowing what things you do will hurt someone! There's no better option and I…I just can't think straight anymore!"

He balled his fingers into his hair and tried to breathe. He was shaking harder than ever.

"Steven…"

He cracked his eyes open a touch. The blue light flickered.

"I told you that the future can show the worst things." Her voice wasn't scolding; it was quiet, almost whispered. She swallowed. "I told you that even in all of the possibilities, things can go as badly as possible. You want to know something?"

He said nothing.

"When you asked if you could borrow my future vision again, I saw this. I saw that you could be hurt and afraid. And it was the most likely scenario that could happen. Out of everything that could happen, you suffering had more possibility. And I gave you my future vision anyway."

Steven crept closer to the rocks, just a few inches away. He could see bits of Sapphire through the spaces.

"I gave it to you because I saw that even though you could be hurt, maybe…Just maybe…This would bring us closer together. I clung to that tiny little hope that you would understand."

One of the stones in the middle of the pile shifted. It pulled away, but instead of straight bangs, Steven saw a single, cornflower blue eye staring back at him. It was shining with incoming tears.

Sapphire's voice dropped quieter. "Some things are inevitable. But please, _please_ believe me when I say that almost everything is in your control. It's not just a never-ending list of terrible things that will be your fault. What you choose and what you do determines your future."

She paused, and the eye on him turned away in shame.

"I realized that today when I made the wrong choice. I decided to do something that I knew could hurt you. And if another possibility I saw comes true…and you hate me…then that's my fault."

The blue light died away.

Sapphire pulled away from the rocks. Nothing moved behind them.

She hung her head, a tear already slipping from her eye.

"Hey, Sapphire?"

She lifted her head and her hand. When the light returned, she saw a hand peeking through the walls, palm facing her.

"If these rocks weren't in the way, I'd hug you, but uh…yeah."

She laughed hoarsely. Taking his hand with her shining one, she summoned a knuckleduster onto her other one. She moved the sharp gemstones over the rocks in a zigzag shape, the lines leaving a dull blue glow.

The second she pulled her knuckledusters back, the rocks fell to pieces. Chips and bits fell onto and slid off Steven's arm. He coughed and waved away the dust that collected in his face.

He and Sapphire pulled to each other. He patted her on her back while she squeezed her arms around him.

"We just can't get enough of these 'welcome back' hugs, can we?" Steven joked.

Sapphire chuckled. By the time they pulled away from each other, she already had her bangs back over her eye.

"Hey," said Steven. "I promise I'll be careful, alright? So you don't have to worry about me so much."

She nodded.

"And because of that, I would like to ask." He pointed a finger upwards. "Is this cave going to fall in on us?"

"It might."

"Okay, let's go."


	26. The Common Soldier

When Steven landed back down on the Warp Pad, he squeezed his middle and groaned. His stomach felt like it was churning like butter. The others stepped off of the Warp Pad and onto the floor of his Room. Ruby made a beeline for the fridge.

Steven sighed and staggered down. "I've never Warped so many times at once. It feels like that time we were on the Teacups at Funland." He glanced up at Opal. "Sorry."

"Forgive and forget," Opal said with a nod. Even so, her hand ran over her lap in bitter remembrance.

The Crystal Gems had gone on Warping trips several times since Peridot's appearance, but it was the first that Steven was around to join them for. Sapphire had stated that the chance that Peridot, Robonoids, or anything else like them appearing on Earth anytime soon was slim, but still possible. They Warped all over Earth and visited some places more than once, especially the Kindergarten. It was tiring, but Steven wasn't going to object. He knew they had to be careful.

Ruby pulled back from the fridge with a bottle of water in hand. She held it until the plastic turned cloudy and the water began to bubble, then undid the cap. She poured the boiling water over her head and shoulders. As steam rose into the air and droplets hit the floor, she sighed in satisfaction.

"Okay," she said as she walked across the Room. "I'm going for another round. You guys can stay here."

"Ruby," Opal called after her.

The red Gem turned to her. Steven took a step back, having some idea of what was about to happen, and knowing to stay out of it.

"Just stay here for a bit, okay? You're pushing yourself too hard."

Ruby scoffed and waved a hand at Opal. "Ah, come on! You don't think I can handle a bit of Warping?"

"It's not the Warping I'm worried about," Opal sighed. "Sapphire told me that you've been going out alone a lot lately. I want you to stay here for a bit."

Ruby leaned forward just enough to see Sapphire behind Opal. Sitting on the sofa, she had her hands in her lap and her face forward. She didn't react to the glare that Ruby sent her at all.

She groaned and turned back to the taller Gem. "Opal, I can handle it!"

"I know you can. I'm not telling you to stay as your leader, I'm telling you to stay as your _friend._ You're putting yourself on edge."

"So?" When Opal sighed with incoming frustration, Ruby continued, "Listen, Opal, I know you think that we should all stick together—and that's not a bad idea—but _I_ think it would be better if I were to encounter anything alone, so we won't _all_ get hurt."

Opal frowned, and one pair of arms crossed over her chest. "That's not very good logic. At all."

Ruby shrugged, but didn't meet Opal's eyes. "I'm a Ruby. I'm supposed to help my friends over myself."

Opal's frown deepened, and something flickered in her bright blue eyes. "Ruby…"

"What?!"

Opal took in a deep breath, pursing her lips. When she spoke, her voice was clipped. "I said 'no'. As a friend _and_ your leader."

Opal and Ruby held gazes. Ruby stared up at the taller Gem with her eyes shining—with confusion, disappointment, anger—but Opal wasn't bending. She kept her jaw set and her arms crossed.

In the silence, Steven glanced to Sapphire. She didn't stir.

Ruby finally ducked her head. She didn't say anything, but she didn't move for the Warp Pad. She crossed her toned arms over her chest.

"Okay." Opal put her hands on her hips. "I'm going out for some relaxation time, because even though I am not supposed to age, this whole experience is starting to give me lines. I suggest that everyone else take a break, too."

"Sounds good to me," Steven said. He meant to relieve some of the tension in the room, but the sound of his voice was awkward to his own ears. "Especially as someone who requires REM cycles."

Opal and Ruby both turned at the same time. Opal took long, graceful steps to the screen door while Ruby hopped over the Warp Pad to the Temple Door. Opal's hand went to the handle as Ruby's held up her Gem.

Sapphire was still, but she spoke up, "Steven wants to ask something."

Opal stopped with the screen door open. Ruby still had her palm extended as a jagged scarlet crack ran down the Temple Door. Both had their eyes on Steven.

Steven usually wasn't awkward about speaking his mind, but now, with four (maybe five?) eyes on him, his voice faltered in his throat. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, so did he even want to bother with asking a question right there and then? He didn't think he did.

After several seconds of horrible silence, he finally said, "I wanted to know what kind of takeout to get tonight."

Opal and Ruby both replied with "Don't care", but while Opal said it with ease, Ruby said it in a grunt. She disappeared into her Room without another word, and the Temple Door slid back into place behind her.

Opal sighed, but just pushed the door open and stepped outside. Steven could hear a sharp _whoosh_ of wind as she leapt into the air.

Steven and Sapphire were left by themselves, on opposite sides of the Room. The clock ticked on the wall. Steven rocked on the heels of his flip-flops.

"Sorry for putting you on the spot," Sapphire said at last.

"It's fine." Steven paused. "Hey, Sapphire?"

"You should probably ask your question later, when things calm down."

"Wh…Oh. Right. But I really was going to ask what kind of takeout you wanted tonight."

"Oh. I don't care."

Steven clicked his tongue and scowled at nothing. "Well now we have two problems without solutions."

* * *

After a short snack (salt-and-vinegar Chaaaaps), a short nap (an hour), and a short period of reading ( _The No Home Boys_ ), Steven went back downstairs from his loft. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he and the others had returned home, but no one else was in his Room. He was once again alone.

After rummaging through the bottom of his closet for a bit, he finally found what he needed and spread it out across the coffee table: crayons, pens, pencils, sheets of paper, and his new book. He went to work with the only sounds being the scratches on the paper. He had to admit, after all the worry and suspense, it was relaxing.

At some point, he heard a familiar crackling sound, then footsteps. Ruby stepped out of her Room, dark eyes half-lidded and mouth frowning. She looked more bored than upset, though, and her arms were easy at her sides.

The Temple Door rejoined behind her as she hopped over the Warp Pad. She finally took notice of Steven and gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She walked to the side of the table opposite of him.

"Hey, Steven. What are you up to?"

"Drawing practice." Steven set his pencils aside and reached for the book. "I found this in some of Dad's old stuff. Pretty cool, huh?"

He held up the book, titled _How to Draw Comic Basics,_ to Ruby. The characters on the cover had big, shiny eyes and small noses, with hair going out in outrageous spikes. It was clear that the official artist was going for a certain style, but how well they had pulled that off was…subjective. All of their features were too emphasized and too spaced-out.

Ruby nodded anyway. "Cool."

"Thanks. I'm drawing pictures of all of us. Here's yours."

He held the paper out to Ruby. The version of her on the paper had triangular, uneven, shiny eyes and small shoulders. The line of her mouth had a small space erased from the middle. One could just make out the faint lines that crossed at her nose underneath the scribbles of red color.

"Oh." Ruby took the paper from him and held it tight between her fingertips. "Oh, this." She waved it, breathing deep. "This right here, this is art."

"Can it go on the fridge?"

"Forget the fridge. This is going right on the wall."

She dashed over to the wall on the other side of the room. It held an old, cracked painting of rolling hills of grass and sunny skies. Steven forgot where it came from, but he knew it had been there for a good, long while.

"What, you think this is something?" She pushed the painting off the wall, and as it hit the floor, she slapped Steven's picture in its place. She pointed at it with gusto. "Now _this_ is taste."

Steven chuckled, both amused and proud. As he swept his pencil across a new sheet of paper, Ruby walked back over to the table. She sat cross-legged on the other side, put her elbows on the table, and cupped her chin with her hands.

For a while, they just sat there, Steven working on a new page of how-to (this time dynamic poses) while Ruby watched him. The silence between the two was comfortable. Eventually, Steven realized that his character's leg looked broken. He crumbled up the paper and picked up a fresh sheet.

Ruby put her hands down and said, "Hey, Steven?"

Steven drew a careful circle as he replied, "Yeeeeees?"

"When Sapphire said you wanted to ask something earlier, you were going to say something else, right?"

Steven's hand faltered, making a dip in the circle, but he kept drawing. "Yeah."

Ruby leaned forward just a bit. She didn't say anything, but Steven knew she was waiting for him to speak.

Steven set the pencil down. Putting his hands in his lap, he said, "Well…I'm kind of afraid you'll just say that I'll have to learn later."

Ruby shrugged a shoulder. "I won't say that for sure. Depends on what it is."

Steven nodded and ran his tongue over his lips. Ruby waited.

He took in a deep breath. "You said you were…a Ruby. Not Ruby, _a_ Ruby. Were you just joking, or…?"

Ruby did not frown or purse her lips, but she did look away from him for a second. Her eyes were thoughtful, considering, a bit hesitant. Steven expected that he'd been right, that he'd just have to wait until later to find out.

"You know what?" Ruby said after a minute. "It's really not that complicated. We promised we were going to start treating you like a Crystal Gem, and this is something you should go ahead and know. No big deal."

Steven nodded and sat straighter. He couldn't tell if the bubbling in his chest was from excitement or anxiety.

Ruby asked, "You remember everything about the Kindergarten, right?"

Steven recited, as if from a textbook, "The Kindergarten was created by Homeworld on the planet Earth to create new Gems, but their method of doing so was dangerous and faulty."

Ruby sent him a thumbs-up. "A-plus."

She reached over to the small plastic box of crayons. As she fished around with her fingers, waxed hues rolling around, she began to explain.

"Every Gem you've met has been made by Homeworld, either in Kindergartens or somewhere else."

She put a scarlet crayon and a cobalt crayon down. "Me, Sapphire…"

She paused. Her hands hovered over some purple and white crayons, but she eventually settled on a periwinkle one. "…Opal."

She shrugged and put down a royal blue and a lime green. "Lapis Lazuli and Peridot."

Steven looked over the five colors, eyes thoughtful, and his fingers twitched. He was going to let it go, but Ruby watched him. She was curious.

He reached into the crayon box and pulled out a light pink one. He held it out to Ruby with a raised brow.

A sad smile came to Ruby's lips. She took the crayon with a single nod and set it down with the others. "Yeah."

She waved her hand over the wax crayons.

"So, all made by Homeworld, right? However…"

She reached back into the crayon box, this time pulling out a handful of colors. She set down another cobalt, a few more lime greens, and others, pairing the colors together. Steven tipped his head as he watched.

"There can be more than one of each type of Gem. There can be more Sapphires, or Lapis Lazulis, or Peridots."

Steven nodded. He definitely understood the overall point, but it also brought up a few questions. They were all technical, though, and he just waited for Ruby to continue.

"Some Gems are more common than others, and most Gems have certain jobs given to them."

Ruby reached back into the box, picking out several crayons, all of the same color. She set down around twelve more scarlets onto the table.

"Rubies are really common Gems. Maybe the most common." She shrugged. "I don't know."

Steven nodded and picked up one of the scarlet crayons. It was kind of weird to imagine more Rubies. He wondered if they looked alike, or if they acted the same. But maybe that wasn't right. It wasn't that important, he supposed.

Rolling the crayon between his fingertips, he asked, "So…what job do Rubies have?"

The corner of Ruby's mouth quivered. Steven couldn't tell if she was trying not to smile or frown.

"Soldiers." Ruby paused, trying to find her words. "Footmen, kind of. Lots of bigger, stronger Gems are used for fighting and guarding, but Rubies kind of fill in the spaces, you know? We're usually in groups, so if we need to be bigger, we'd just fuse."

Steven nodded. Now he understood another piece of the puzzle. So Homeworld had Gem types, and there could be several of each, and they all had their own jobs. Of course, he knew that wasn't the whole picture, but it was enough for now. He shouldn't bite off too much at once.

"Okay, I have one itty-bitty question."

"Shoot."

"Gems aren't born as babies, right? Like, you and Sapphire and Opal, you weren't like me when I was first born?" He made a vague shape with his hands. "Squishy and small and adorable?"

"No, no." Ruby paused, and a momentary smirk crept into her face. "Well, maybe that last one, for yours truly."

Steven snapped his fingers at her. "Aye!"

Ruby snapped her fingers at him. "Aye!"

Her smile fell as she continued, "But Gems kind of just…" She popped her fingers out. "Burst out of the ground as who they are. Like…adult babies."

Steven snorted.

Ruby rolled her eyes and flicked a crayon at him. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Funny image."

Steven rolled a crayon across the table. The smile on his face shifted into a pondering look.

"So, uh…were you made on Earth's Kindergarten?"

Ruby paused, and her body went still. Her eyes stared down at the floorboard. She didn't seem shocked, just thoughtful. Her fingers twitched.

"You know, it's funny." She leaned forward and cupped her head in her hands again. With her Gem against her cheek, she murmured, "But I have no idea."

"Are you an orphan?" Steven's face twisted with sympathy. "Do you not have a rock mama or papa?"

"I have to. I just don't remember where I was made. It's really weird, because every other Gem does, but…I don't."

Huh. She hadn't mentioned this before.

Steven paused. Furrowing his brows, he asked, "You said you burst out of the ground as you, though."

"I mean, that's how it's supposed to be."

Steven gave her a look that told her he still did not understand. She leaned back with a sigh.

"When I was made, I was only awake for just a second. I saw a bit of color at most, then I just popped—" She popped her lips on the 'P'. "—into my Gem for the first time. Like I was poofed the second I came out."

"When did you wake up next?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed as she thought hard. Her lips pinched together.

"When I woke up next, I was really confused because I hadn't regenerated before. I came to my senses eventually, but all I remember was that I was moving. Not by myself, either, I mean someone was carrying me. I looked around, and all I saw was green, and a…uh…a kind of pyramid-thingy with a square on it?" She huffed and threw her hands up. "I don't know."

She crossed her arms over her chest and murmured, "Been alive for thousands of years and I can't remember where I started."

Steven was just about to comfort her, but something in her words made her pause. 'Green', 'Pyramid', and 'Square'…He'd seen something like that before, but where?

Thinking hard, he could only come up with a faint memory. He hadn't been to this place before, but he had seen it, experienced it, somehow. Like he'd seen a vision.

Vision.

When he had borrowed future vision from Sapphire, he could have sworn…

Steven reached for another piece of paper and pulled the crayon box to him. Ruby watched him closely but not with severity—she wasn't expecting him to come up with anything that she couldn't.

He drew the jagged lines of green grass first, then the triangles of the pyramid. He drew the square on the front, and then he paused. There was more to it than this, he knew.

He kept drawing as the details came to his mind. Triangles in the pyramid's corners. Atop the pyramid, there was a smaller one, tip-to-tip with it. And the square was darker than the rest of the pyramid, too, and…

When he couldn't think of anything else, he finally stopped. He scribbled in a yellow sky and a bit more grass. Unsure, he turned the paper around and pushed it across the table to Ruby.

She looked over it a bit lazily at first….but then she paused. Her brows furrowed, her mouth relaxed. She lifted the paper with her fingers, as if trying to feel it. Steven could see recognition flickering in her dark eyes.

"I…" She swallowed. "I remember this. But…" She looked to Steven, eyes narrowed but not unkind. "Have you been here before?"

"No. I mean..." Steven waved his hands. "Yes and no? Sapphire let me borrow future vision a while ago, and I kind of saw this and…" He shrugged. "I dunno."

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah…" Ruby stood to her feet, picture still in hand. "This is it. But…what is it?"

Steven shrugged. "I dunno. Like I said, never been there. Why haven't you just tried Warping there before?"

"I tried, but I could never get it clear in my head and…"

He almost saw a literal lightbulb go off over Ruby's head. Actually, the light bulb in the ceiling flickered. Ruby's eyes went wide; her mouth formed a perfect 'o'. When she looked down at him, she didn't smile, but her eyes were bright.

"Steven, I have an idea!"

"I should make Rorschach pictures!"

"What? No. Listen." She gestured between the two of them. "I've been there before, but I don't remember it. You _do_ remember it, but you haven't been there before. If the two of us get on the Warp Pad together…!"

"…We could combine our mind power and get there!"

Ruby threw her arms into the air. "Yes!" Arms still up, she looked aside. "Theoretically!"

"Theoretically is good enough for me!" Steven stood to his feet. Now he was definitely excited. "Ruby, we're about to figure out your origin story! That's what comic books are all about!"

"Unrelated, but flattering!" Ruby waved a hand at him and pointed to the Warp Pad with the other. She was bouncing up and down. "Come on, let's go! We got discovering to do!"

Steven's grin grew wider, but then it faltered. "Um…Hey."

"Hey!"

"Should we maybe tell Opal and Sapphire? If it's been so many years, what if it's dangerous now?"

Ruby's buoyant excitement paused. She set her jaw and looked down at her feet, eyes narrowed.

After a moment, she shook her head. "No. This is…This is just going to be an 'us thing', okay? Opal and Sapphire aren't involved in this."

"Okay, but my point still stands. What if the place is crawling with one-eyed lobster monsters or something?"

"Well, for one thing, no. For another thing, this is another opportunity for you to deal with unexpected stuff, right? And hey…" Ruby winked at him. "If anything goes wrong, I'll be with you."

Steven brought a finger to his smirking lips. "Did you just use my own compliment on me?"

Ruby didn't make an attempt to hide her coyness as she shrugged. "Meh-beh. Did it work?"

Steven fluttered his eyelashes. Shimmying his shoulders, he chirped, "Meh-beh."

* * *

The Warp to their location was a struggle. Ruby and Steven thought of the pyramid's image as best as they could. Even so, the light flickered and waned around them, and even Ruby flailed in midair a bit.

Soon enough, however, they landed back on the Warp Pad's surface. Ruby landed on her feet, Steven on his belly.

Pushing himself up to his knees, Steven looked around them.

The dry green grass came up to their hips and rippled in the breeze. The sky, just as Steven remembered, was pale yellow with the sun's light. The pyramid sat in a clearing in the midst of the green sea. The stainless stones that made it were gray and smooth, but the corners were covered in triangular plates. The side facing them had a great dark square, but no visible door.

Steven looked up at Ruby's gold form. Her hair and headband fluttered in the wind and her arms were loose at her sides. Steven had never seen the look on her face before. It was a sort of mix between surprise and tranquility. Perhaps nostalgia.

"So…This is it?"

Ruby's eyes widened as if she'd forgotten him. She lifted the paper in her hands and held it up to the temple.

Moving it back down, she said, "Yup. This is it."

"Should we go in?"

She nodded and shrugged at the same time. She crumpled up the paper and tossed it over her shoulder. "I guess so."

"Race ya."

Before Ruby could say a word, Steven arched into the air like a dolphin (he even chirped and clicked) and dove off of the Warp Pad. The grass to the pyramid rustled in a zigzag pattern. Ruby ran through the grass after Steven as quickly as she could without stumbling.

Steven slid into clearing around the pyramid with another click. He hopped to his feet, covered in dirt and dust, and turned around, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Beat ya!"

Still stumbling, Ruby called out, "Yeah, yeah, keep—"

She tripped and disappeared into the grass. Steven waited for her to get up, but she didn't. The grass didn't even move.

Instead, she emerged in the clearing just a moment later, army-crawling on her knees and elbows. She left a smoldering tunnel in the grass behind her, and dusted the ashes off of her skin.

She pulled herself to her feet and narrowed her eyes at Steven. "I begrudgingly admit defeat."

Steven nodded, satisfied, and they both turned to the pyramid. They now stood just in front of the great dark square, but there wasn't any kind of crevices or cracks to be seen.

Ruby frowned and pressed a hand to the stone. Running her smooth palm over it, she muttered, "Well…Don't see a way in."

"Maybe it's art." At Ruby's questioning look, Steven shrugged. "Dad said that if you find weird objects in the middle of nowhere, then they're probably art pieces. College students and whatnot."

Ruby pursed her lips. Her eyes trailed up and down the pyramid, and Steven did the same. He moved to the right until he came to the edge of the square.

Just as he began to turn back, he saw something that neither of them had noticed before: an odd sort of depression in the stone. It was too clean to be accidental or natural, but too vague for Steven to make out the shape.

"Found a thing!"

Ruby walked over to him and looked at the thing. Her head tipped to the side, and she raised a finger to poke at it.

"Huh…No clue what this is."

Steven, acting on curiosity, raised his hand and traced the outline. He could feel four lines, and maybe four arcs…

"Oh, wait!"

He slapped a hand onto it.

There was an immediate low hum. Straight, dark lines appeared on the square face, running vertically and horizontally until they formed two triangles side-by-side. They swung inwards into the pyramid without a sound.

Ruby and Steven peeked inside the space the doors left behind. The inside was almost pitch-dark. They could just barely make out any details.

Ruby reached over and ruffled Steven's hair. "Look at you! Being all smart like that!"

"Want to know another smart idea? Use your hand as a flashlight."

Ruby winked at him. She held her palm up, and a pinkish-red beam of light emitted from her Gem. She and Steven stepped inside the pyramid as she kept it up.

The inside of the pyramid didn't match the outside. The doors led into a wide, round room with more triangular doors lining the curved walls. There wasn't much to the room except for the four diamond shapes on the floor. It was unusually empty, and reminded Steven of the pyramid that once stood in the Strawberry Battlefield.

He and Ruby kept walking, their footsteps echoing in the air. The red spotlight from Ruby's Gem moved around with her.

When they came to the middle of the room, Steven saw that the four diamonds on the floor had a fith, smaller one in the middle, raised a few inches above the others. When Ruby's light passed over it, he saw another depression on it, cut as clear as day. Just like the pedestal in the Kindergarten's laboratory.

"Another thing!"

He slapped a hand down onto it.

The triangle lifted from the floor. As it did, something began to seep into the lines between the others. Steven wanted to say that it looked like magma, but it was sort of pinkish-red, and underneath the floor's surface, he could feel only slight warmth.

Around the doors and the ceiling and almost all over the room, cracks and crevices began to glow. Ruby ceased her light as they watched. Four bright lines stretched up to the curved ceiling and the blank diamond it held. It filled the diamond's shape full, and the room was filled in bright light.

Steven turned to Ruby. "This ringing any bells?"

"Nope."

Ruby's eyes scanned over the doors. She realized then that they were all open, and the rooms inside were just as brightly lit.

"Steven, let's sleuth around."

As Ruby walked to the nearest open door, Steven followed, noting, "You know, sleuth is a really funny word. _Ssssloooooth._ "

The first room they came to was filled with round pedestals taller than Steven or Ruby, but they lacked the hand-shaped switches. Each pedestal had a smaller one beside it…but that was it. Other than the pedestals, illuminated in their own spotlights, there was nothing else in the room. Not even shelves on the walls.

Steven walked up to one of the shorter pedestals and peeked inside. The top of it curved inward like a bowl, but for what, Steven couldn't tell. It was empty.

"Maybe this is a hand-washing room."

Ruby frowned as she took in the surroundings. Steven could tell that she was thinking hard, but nothing was coming to her. She clicked her tongue.

Inspecting the pedestals closer, Steven noticed that there was a hand-switch on the side of a shorter one. He waved Ruby over, and when she was at his side, he pressed his hand to it.

The bowl of the pedestals split apart into empty space. It looked like a chute of sorts, and when Steven removed his hand, the bowl sealed back together.

Steven paused. Okay, something was supposed to go in here…

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a single penny. He dropped it into the bowl and hit the switch again.

When the bowl split apart, the penny dropped down the chute. For a moment, there was silence, then a quiet tinkling sound.

Looking down, Steven and Ruby saw the penny moving through a line in the floor. It moved between them before it made a sharp turn for the door.

Steven and Ruby followed its trail. The penny moved back into the main room, then ducked through another pair of triangular doors on the other side. They ran across to it.

Inside, dark cylinders ran from roof to floor. Steven couldn't tell if they were pipes or something else, but nothing moved in or around them.

The penny had disappeared, and Steven and Ruby's gazes went to another bowl pedestal in the middle of the room. A small circular opening appeared at its bottom, and the penny was lifted into the bowl. They waited, but nothing else happened.

Steven and Ruby hummed at the same time. It was like there was some kind of puzzle for them to figure out.

"Guess what?" asked Steven.

"What?"

"Bet you there's another hand-thingy in here somewhere."

"Bet you I can find it first."

"Bet you can't."

"Bet I can."

* * *

15 MINUTES OF BETTING LATER

* * *

Ruby threw her hands up with a groan. "I can't find it!"

"Bet you I can't either," Steven said with a huff.

They looked all over the pedestal and all over the cylinders, searched the walls up and down, but they couldn't find another hand-switch. There was nothing else that could make the cylinders budge, at least not that they could find.

Eventually, Ruby huffed again and stomped out of the room. Steven followed after her.

"We have to check the others out," Ruby told Steven. "There has to be something here we're not getting!"

"Quickly, Ruby! More sleuthing!"

* * *

15 MINUTES OF SLEUTHING LATER

* * *

Ruby threw her hands up with a groan. "I can't find anything!"

Steven stepped out of the room beside hers, wiggling his fingers. _"Déjà vu."_

Ruby groaned and dug her fingers beneath her headband. Steam huffed through her lips. "Did you find anything even remotely interesting?"

Steven ducked back into the room for just a moment. When he stepped back out, he was holding a smooth golden disk of sorts. He waved it in his hand.

"I found this. It kind of looks like the coins you get on old video games!"

Ruby stared at the disk, then at him, eyes blank. Steven's smile slowly fell. With a sheepish sigh, he dropped the disk to the floor.

Ruby stomped past him.

"This is the only room we haven't gone into."

There was a reason, too. Unlike the others, this pair of doors was shut together. What used to be the hand-switch beside it was now a splintered mess the wall. Whatever had taken the switch out had aimed directly for it.

Ruby ran her hand over the splintered pieces, but it was useless. With a huff, she rolled her shoulders back and brought her hands to the doors. She tucked her fingers between them and pulled as hard as she could. They shifted open just an inch or so, but no further.

"Hey, Ruby?"

Ruby let the doors go with a heavy sigh. "Yeah?"

"Um…It looks like whoever was here didn't want anyone going in."

Steven brushed his fingertips over the cracks that were once the hand-switch. A piece fell off and hit the floor.

"I mean…They really wanted to destroy this."

Ruby shrugged. "So? It's hundreds of years later, no one else is around, and it may be of use to us now."

"Good point. However!" Steven snapped his fingers at her and moon-walked backwards. "I'm just going to stand oooover heeeere."

Ruby rolled her shoulders back again and summoned her gauntlets onto her hands in flashes of red light. Bracing her body and setting her legs apart, she reeled an arm back and swung with full force.

Steven felt the impact in his ears, even from the other side of the room. The surface of the doors splintered like glass, and with another hit, began to cave inwards. Another hit and another, and chips began to fall. Steven didn't know if he should prepare to run or fight.

With a final hit, Ruby could just pick away the chunks and pieces into an opening big enough for her to crawl through. She continued still, until a few bare chunks clung to the triangular frame. And after dismissing her gauntlets, she went in, disappearing into the shadows.

Steven waited with his nerves jumping.

Ruby's red head popped through the opening. "No immediate threat detected. Come on, Right Hand Man!"

Steven dashed to the door and stepped inside the room. The inside was darker than the rest of the pyramid, although still lined in the pinkish magma. Steven could still see clearly enough.

And because of that, he could see how empty the room was. It wasn't that large. The only thing inside, that Steven could see, was a three-tiered platform. But that was it.

Except…

Steven and Ruby both stepped closer. There was something on top of the platform, but what was it?

The magma in the walls began to pool in the top of the ceiling. Steven and Ruby stood tense, but didn't move. A beam of pinkish light formed over the platform.

It somewhat looked like a chest. Maroon in color, but with gold plates at its corners. It didn't move, it didn't glow, it didn't do anything.

Even so, Steven suddenly felt…off-put. It looked like an ordinary chest…but then, why was there only one in the room? Why was the hand-switch destroyed?

He didn't stop Ruby when she walked up to the chest. She walked around it in a circle with her eyebrows furrowed. Steven then noticed that the chest didn't have any locks or switches on it.

Even so, when Ruby tried to lift the top, it didn't budge. Even pulling in opposite directions, it didn't crack an inch.

Steven hummed and crossed his arms behind his back. He started to pace around, brows furrowed and lips pursed.

"Let's gather what we can from the scene, shall we? The hand-switch is broken, but it's the only one. So someone wanted this specific room inaccessible." He lifted an invisible pipe from his lips. "But all there is inside is a simple chest. Or is this Pandora's Box? The Box of Pandora? Pandora's Box?"

He was half-joking (only half), but Ruby didn't say anything. Steven turned to her.

She wasn't trying to open the box anymore. Rather, she was on her knees before it, hands in her lap. With her back to Steven, he couldn't see her face, but her body was at ease.

She lifted a hand to the top and ran her fingertips across. Steven didn't say anything.

With her hand still on the chest, she almost whispered, "I need to open this."

"Okay…"

Steven was hesitant to step up beside her. He could now see that her face was unusually calm, almost trance-like. She was barely blinking.

Steven clicked his tongue as he looked at the chest. "Well…You broke the doors. Maybe you can break this, too?"

"No. No, no, that might hurt what's inside."

"Hurt?"

"Damage. Ruin." She shook her head and pulled herself to her feet. "You know what I mean."

"I hear you, but how are we going to do it? There's nothing here."

Ruby chewed on her cheek, thinking hard.

* * *

Ruby did not let them immediately step off of the Warp Pad when they returned to Steven's Room. Rather, with the lights still flowing around them, she parted the curtains with her fingers. In the small window of vision she had, she looked around the Room. No one was in sight.

She let the lights stop. Steven reached for the chest, but Ruby lifted it up with one hand. She stepped off the Warp Pad, followed by Steven, and set the chest down in the middle of the floor almost without a sound.

"Alright," she murmured under her breath, "We have no switches and no key and no anything…So we're going to have to—"

"Think outside of the _box_?"

"I walked into it." Ruby leaned forward and pressed her forehead to the chest. "I walked right into it."

"On a more serious note…"

Steven dashed up the stairs to his loft. Ruby heard things being shuffled and tossed around, and Mr. Queasy fell onto the sofa with a groan of _"My pancreas!"_

Steven came back down the steps with a small yellow key in hand.

"A skeleton key! It can open anything!"

* * *

 _Tap. Tap. Tap._

Steven kept tapping the teeth of the key against the chest. Ruby stood just a foot away, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.

Steven pulled the key back, pausing.

… _Tap._

Ruby threw her arms into the air. "This isn't working!"

Steven dropped his hand with a sigh. "I know."

"Do you have anything else than can help?"

"Yes!"

Steven dug into his back pocket and pulled out a slim brown box. He pulled off the lid and showed the inside to Ruby. Two silver sticks rested in the red velvet within.

"Lock picks!"

A minute later, Steven held broken bits of silver in his palms.

"It broke my lock picks…"

At that moment, they heard the familiar sound of the Temple Door being activated. The image of the glowing blue gemstone melted away into bright light.

" _Steven, open the door!"_

Steven ran to the door and pulled it open as quickly as he could.

Ruby pressed her boot to the chest and shoved it as hard as she could. With incredible speed, it slid across the wooden floor, through the doorway, and past the railing on the balcony. It landed with a hard _THUMP_ in the sand below.

Steven shut the door just as the Temple Door finally disappeared.

Sapphire took a single step out of her Room. She didn't say a word, but Steven could tell that she was looking at them. The Temple Door reappeared behind her.

After several moments of silence, Ruby said, "What?"

"Did you two go out?"

Steven glanced over at Ruby, but she didn't give him any kind of signal. "Yes…?"

"Where?"

Ruby almost too quickly replied, "Fry bits."

"You don't like fry bits."

"It's an acquired taste."

Sapphire said nothing.

" _Can a Gem not get fry bits without everyone getting suspicious?"_

Sapphire still said nothing. She raised her glowing Gem up, the Temple Door disappeared again, she stepped backwards into her Room, and the Door reappeared.

Another bout of silence followed.

"That was weird," Steven noted.

"No kidding." Ruby jogged over to Steven and tugged the door open. "Let's get back to work."

* * *

Steven set down the car jack with the other items splayed out across the sand. Crowbar, air pump, credit card, some sharp rocks, some heavy rocks, nitroglycerin…It was an array of all they could find that could possibly help them out with opening the chest.

"This is it," Steven declared.

Ruby nodded and brushed her headband out of her eyes. Steven didn't know why, but he felt like Ruby was stressing herself out. She was blinking fast, her muscles were twitching, and she was tugging at her headband every other minute.

"Let's go," she huffed, and took a step forward.

"Um…" Ruby turned to him. "Do you…I mean, I can try it myself for a bit if you want to relax for a—"

"No, no, no, no, no, don't you start! I can handle this!" She rolled her shoulders back, breathing deep. "I can handle this! Don't need anyone worrying about me!"

She bent down to the tools before Steven could stop her. He frowned, but followed her lead. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, and whatever was inside would be like a prize for their hard work.

" _It's time to get movin' now,  
Let's get the ball on the run."_

The first and most obvious tool was the crowbar. Ruby wedged it into the chest and pushed down with all of her strength—it snapped in two seconds flat.

" _Let's take all the time we need,  
Don't mind the setting sun."_

The next step was the car jack. They didn't even know why they bothered getting it—it didn't fit between the chest and its top. Ruby tossed it over her shoulder with a huff.

" _We're going to get the right idea  
Even though now, we've got none."_

They tried chipping away the edges of the chest with the sharp rocks. Maybe they could file it down enough to reach inside, but after an hour, they realized it was a fruitless effort. Ruby growled and crushed the rock in her hand.

" _We'll finish the job  
We'll get it done."_

Ruby stood on the balcony and dropped the heavy rocks down on the chest. They bounced off with no effect, and beside them, Steven shrugged. Ruby pulled at her hair with a hot groan.

As the day went on, Ruby became more and more agitated. Steven was starting to get cautious around her—each time an attempt failed, she'd grow hotter and hotter and maybe break something. But he didn't want to ask her to take a break again.

At some point, he heard her speaking under her breath.

" _I can't listen to what all the others say.  
They don't know what they're talking about.  
How can they, anyway?  
They talk about something that only they can perceive.  
I'm not worth as much as they believe…"_

* * *

"It's broken. Everything is broken."

Steven looked at the mess around them. Bits of metal and rocks littered the sand, as well as an empty nitroglycerin container. Some parts of the sand were scorched or steaming. Some bits had become glass.

Beside the box, Ruby gripped her headband so hard her hands trembled. She was trembling all over, really, and Steven could feel the heat coming off of her body from where he stood.

He didn't step closer to her, but he said, "Um…I'm not going to ask you to stop, but don't stay out here too long, okay? You should rest eventually."

Ruby only bit out a low "Yeah."

* * *

Past midnight, Ruby was still outside. Steven looked down at her from the balcony. She hadn't noticed him yet, but he could see her stiff silhouette in front of the shadowed chest. He wasn't sure if she even tried anything else after he left.

He stepped back inside as silently as he could. His bare feet padded across the floor and up his stairs. Already in his yellow pajamas, he crawled into his bed and pulled his blankets up over him.

In the few minutes before slumber, he waited for Ruby to come back inside, but she didn't.

As worried as he was, his eyelids grew heavier. He let himself fall asleep, just hoping that Ruby had calmed down by the next morning.

It felt like just a minute later that he was being shaken awake.

"Steven!"

In his startled daze, he made a sound like "Wharsteleakma'am."

Ruby stood over him from his bedside. She wasn't heated or trembling anymore, but her eyebrows were furrowed over her wide eyes.

"Get up," she whispered, as if they weren't alone.

Steven sat up on the mattress, but only rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What's going on?"

"We have to go back to the pyramid."

Ruby pointed behind her, and Steven followed her finger. The chest was already sitting on the Warp Pad.

"We had to have left something behind," Ruby whispered to Steven. "Something to open up the chest. Come on!"

Steven couldn't put the pieces together in his half-asleep trance. He saw the chest and he saw Ruby, but why now? Couldn't they just wait until the morning?

He didn't realize he'd said that out loud until Ruby barked, _"Now!"_

It was enough to startle him to attention. Ruby jogged down the stairs to the Warp Pad, and stared up at him anxiously. She was jogging in place.

Even as confused as he was, Steven knew that there was no point in arguing. She was ready to go, and he was coming with her.

He pulled his flip-flops on and stumbled down the steps to her. She pulled him onto the Warp Pad and brought the lights up before he'd met the surface.

In just a second, he had been lifted into the air and slammed back down. He fell onto the chest and groaned. Even at the pyramid, the moon was shining and the sky was filled with a clear canvas of stars. Why were they out so late?

Ruby didn't wait for him this time. With him on top, she lifted the chest over her head and took off running for the pyramid. Steven bobbed up-and-down above her and fumbled to keep his grip on the chest.

In almost no time at all, Ruby had slapped the hand-switch and ran inside. The lights were still activated, but being tossed up and down, they looked like pinkish blurs to Steven. It was almost making him sick.

Ruby ran straight into the room where they first found the chest. She set it and Steven back down on the platform so hard that Steven felt his bones rattle with the impact.

She started to dart around the room in a red blur. She peeked at every corner and crevice as if there was even something to find.

"Come on, Steven!" Ruby dashed out of the room, and her echoing voice added, "There has to be something!"

Steven trudged to the doorway, but didn't move further. Instead, he watched Ruby disappear into one room and heard her scurried footsteps inside until she zipped into the next room.

He knew that this was going too far, that something was wrong with this, but he really wasn't sure how to say it without making her angry. He really didn't want to say that he was _scared_ of Ruby, but…

On the other side of the main hall, the doors opened.

Steven blinked. There was definitely something at the entrance of the pyramid, it was definitely coming in, and it definitely wasn't him or Ruby.

"Something's coming!"

The footsteps scurrying in the other room paused. Ruby dashed out of a room to Steven's side. She was already stiff, but she was now as rigid as rock as she summoned her gauntlets onto her hands. Steven took a step back behind her, unsure if he should summon his shield or not.

The light footsteps echoed off the walls as the thing, the person, kept moving forward. The doors closed shut, washing out its silhouette in darkness.

Steven couldn't make it out until it stepped into the reddish light.

"Sapphire? What are you doing here?"

Sapphire kept her hands close and entwined at her chest as she kept moving forward. She didn't stop until she was just underneath the diamond of the ceiling. It gave her form a pink outline, turned her hair almost lavender. Ruby's gauntlets dropped a bit.

"I knew you'd be here," Sapphire finally replied.

Ruby paused. Letting her gauntlets disappear back into her Gem, she said, "How'd you get here?"

Sapphire said nothing.

"Have you been here before?" asked Steven. He held a finger up to his eyes. "Or did you just see it clearly enough?"

"I think," said Sapphire, "that we should go home."

Ruby looked her up and down. "Why?"

"There's no reason to be here."

Steven's brows furrowed as he watched the blue Gem. Sapphire was acting…off. She was as calm as ever, but the way she spoke—or didn't—made Steven think that she was hiding something.

Everything was silent for a good minute.

Ruby asked, "Do you know what's in the chest?"

"Yes."

"…And?"

"You don't want to know."

Ruby scoffed and jabbed a finger at the back room. "Sapphire, either tell me what it is or get lost! I don't need you messing with me right now!"

Sapphire didn't move.

"We should go home," she said.

Ruby patted Steven on his shoulder. "Just ignore her, Steven. I don't know what her deal is, but I'm not bothering with it."

Ruby turned for another room, but Steven stayed and looked at Sapphire. She remained where she was. Steven couldn't tell who or what she was looking at. She was starting to unnerve him.

"Steven, keep looking!"

Steven glanced between Ruby's retreating form and Sapphire's still one.

Something on the ground caught his eye. It was the disk that he had dropped earlier that day, cast aside. He hadn't noticed it when he came in.

He took the few short steps to it and picked it up. He still had no idea what it could be—he thought that it could be a gear or nut to a machine, but he couldn't think of what.

"Steven."

Sapphire's voice was steady, but it cut through the air. Steven raised his eyes to her.

Sapphire had her hand held out to him. Her Gem was lavender underneath the light.

"Give that to me."

Steven's feet were rooted to where he stood. His fingers on the disk turned stiff.

He didn't know that Ruby heard until he heard footsteps and turned to her. Ruby was walking to him, but she had her eyes on Sapphire. The hand still at Sapphire's chest curled.

Ruby glanced between Sapphire and the disk in Steven's hand.

"It opens the chest, doesn't it?"

Sapphire said nothing.

Ruby grit her teeth and held a hand out to Steven. "Give it to me, Steven."

Steven cleared his dry throat. "Um…I don't know if I should…?"

Ruby scoffed again and snatched the disk from him so quickly it made him flinch. She didn't glance at him as she turned towards the back room—

Sapphire stood between her and the doorway.

Ruby stepped back in surprise at first, but then her eyes hardened on the blue Gem. Gripping the disk to her chest, she bit out, "Move."

Sapphire replied, "You don't want to open the chest."

" _Why?"_

Sapphire said nothing.

Ruby tried to move Sapphire aside, but the Gem held her place. So with a grunt, Ruby shoved her hard. Sapphire couldn't help the small gasp that left her lips as she almost toppled over. Steven jumped. He never saw Ruby hurt Sapphire before.

" _Ruby!"_ cried Steven.

Ruby kept walking, and Steven ran to Sapphire's side.

However, when Ruby stopped, it was because of the blue Gem herself.

Ruby grunted when she felt the ice close around her feet. It kept crawling up her legs and to her hips. She pulled and twisted, but it just held her tighter. Heat began to pool around her, but the ice didn't melt. A snarl left her lips.

At the start of the ice's trail, Sapphire kept her voice even.

"Ruby. Don't."

The more Ruby twisted, the higher the ice climbed. Ruby's growling grew louder and louder, and the shimmering heat around her reached Steven. The red fingers still holding the disk were trembling. It was almost like watching a tea kettle growing hotter and hotter until the whistling point.

"Ruby," Steven cried, "Just calm down! No one has to—"

Sapphire walked over to Ruby, standing between her and the chest on the platform. Ruby was still shaking like a caged animal, her lips pulled back from her teeth, and the eyes that landed on Sapphire were fiery. But it wasn't like Sapphire was proud of what she was doing.

"I'm not going to let you open the chest."

Ruby let out a roar, and in a blast of sharp heat, her cage of ice exploded. Chunks hit the floors and walls while hot water sprayed into the air. Steven shrank back, but Sapphire did not budge an inch.

Ruby landed back down on her feet with her gauntlets in hand. She stood high and glared daggers down at Sapphire. They were almost the same height, but in that moment, Ruby loomed over her.

" _Then you're going to have to shatter me."_

Sapphire said nothing.

A minute later, she was sailing through the air.

Steven found his voice at last. "Sapphire!"

Sapphire hit the floor of the main hall with a grunt. If she wasn't made of light, she'd be bruised purple with the impact. She rolled a few times, but skidded to a stop on her feet. She already had her knuckledusters summoned on her hands. Her long hair was mussed.

Ruby charged at her with a roar and her gauntlets at her side.

She swung her whole arm at Sapphire, but in a blue blur, Sapphire ducked and zipped out of the path. Another swing, another dodge. They moved together in a dance, never touching, never stopping. Neither landed a hit on the other. Sapphire's form zipped up and down and around Ruby. It reminded Steven of molecule models he'd seen, how the blue ones orbited around the red one.

Steven almost felt like crying, he was so frustrated. He was so confused, he was so scared, and every moment just twisted the knife. He had never seen them act like this before, and he hated every second of it. He just wanted it to _stop!_

All he could do was scream, _"Stop it!"_

Neither of them listened.

Sapphire finally pulled herself away from Ruby. She stopped still, and Ruby once again charged for her with a raised fist. However, Sapphire pushed herself backwards, sliding back on another path of ice that formed at her feet. Ruby didn't stop, even as the ice pulled her with it. The two of them disappeared into another room, and there was a reverberating crash from inside.

Steven half-stumbled, half-ran his way to the doorway, almost slipping on the ice. Sapphire had just landed down on her feet, and there was a mess of steam and debris behind her. Pieces of the cylinders were scattered around the floor.

Ruby lifted her fist from the caved-in remains of a cylinder and span around to Sapphire. Steven had never seen such fire in Ruby's eyes, such fury. Even though the glare wasn't for him, it still burned.

Sapphire shoved him out of the way.

When the cylinder came flying, Sapphire dashed out of its path. Steven just narrowly missed it himself, and it hit the far wall of the main hall in a blast of dust and stone. Ruby dashed out after it.

He took a glance back at the remains of the room of cylinders. With the steam cleared, he could see the debris better, but…

They weren't debris, they were…armor? Whole suits of armor, thrown apart into pieces. Gauntlets, helmets, breastplates, shining and pristine, even after being tossed.

He turned to the main room, where the cylinder was thrown on the floor. Sure enough, more pieces of armor were spilled out from it. Why on earth…

Ruby ran at Sapphire with all she had, but no matter what she did, the blue Gem was always one step ahead of her. Her gauntlet once again hit what wasn't Sapphire, instead imbedding into the wall. She cracked a line of magma, and the hot pink liquid pooled onto the floor. Whatever splattered on Ruby evaporated on impact.

Behind her, Sapphire landed down on her feet.

Once again, she said, "There's no point in this—!"

" _THEN GIVE UP!"_

Ruby brought her gauntlets together with a hard _CLACK,_ and in a cloud of hot steam, they blasted off of her arms like rockets.

Sapphire didn't move this time, but she was engulfed in a cloud of smoke and dust before Steven could tell if she'd been hit. Ruby didn't hesitate. She summoned another pair of gauntlets back onto her hands and once again charged.

When Ruby was just a foot away, Sapphire leaped out of the cloud and swung.

The sharp gemstones of her knuckledusters cut across Ruby's chest. A glowing blue slash was left in their wake.

There was a quick burst of blue light, and Ruby went flying.

She landed all the way on the other side of the hall. Sparkling blue smoke trailed from her chest. She jumped to her feet quickly, but not quick enough.

Sapphire shoved her hand to Ruby's chest hard enough to make Ruby lose her footing. Before she fell, however, she was once again caged in ice. Ruby pulled and twisted, and heat continued to blast off of her body, but Sapphire wasn't letting go this time. Ruby screamed, and Sapphire stood straight.

With her knuckledusters at her sides, she said, "You're reckless, Ruby." With each word, she moved closer, until she was just a few inches from Ruby's face. "I know what you're about to do more than you do. Just stop and I'll let you go."

Ruby's eyes cracked open just enough to see where Sapphire stood, and Steven realized that Sapphire had just been baited.

Fire erupted from Ruby's mouth.

With a yelp, Sapphire reeled back from the flames. In that one second, in that one moment where Sapphire lost her composure, Ruby was able to obliterate the ice. Even on the other side of the room, Steven felt the force, as powerful as a grenade. Sapphire was thrown back by it. She landed hard on her side.

A red hand gripped Sapphire's arm. Ruby twisted around and almost weightlessly swung Sapphire over her head.

Steven flinched when Sapphire's body hit the floor. He heard stone crack and crumble, saw dust erupt from the spot. Pieces and chips of rock flew into the air.

…Even so, Ruby must have been holding back, because Sapphire remained when the smoke cleared. Her body had caved the floor in, but she was still there, shaking. Her hair was a mess and her dress was scuffed with dust.

Ruby let go of Sapphire's hand. Steam lifted from the corners of her eyes.

"Why won't you just _tell_ me?!"

Sapphire's voice was just barely a whisper.

"You don't understand."

Ruby stomped away from the fallen Gem to the back room. Steven's feet moved before he told them to. He dashed to Sapphire's side and lifted her up as gently as he could. She was neither bruised nor cut, but her movements were stiff and shaking. She breathed shakily.

While she was still on her knees, she grabbed a fistful of Steven's shirt.

"Stop. Ruby."

Steven's eyes went to the back room. Through the ragged doorframe, he could see Ruby bend down and pick up the disk. She flipped it over in her hands.

He hesitated to leave Sapphire's side at first, but he was soon running at full speed for the back room. He tripped over a stray rock as he did so, calling out, "Ruby!"

The red Gem, halfway to the chest, turned to him with wide eyes and furrowed brows.

"Steven, whose side are you _on?_!"

Steven crawled through the opening Ruby had created. "I'm not on anyone's side! There are no sides!"

"There is _now._ "

"Why? Ruby, I am so, _so_ confused!"

Sapphire's voice echoed to them. _"Steven!"_

Ruby set the disk down before the chest, spun on her heel, and stomped to the door. She slapped a hand to the door and created an arc over the opening. Molten rock dripped down in white hot and angry red drippings. When a cascade had been successfully created, Ruby turned back around.

Sapphire was soon on the other side. She waved her hands over the scorching drippings in a fruitless attempt to harden and cool them. She ducked and raised her head, trying to peek through the holes that came and went in the web.

"Steven, you have to stop her!"

Steven's gaze went to Ruby. She was knelt down before the chest, disk in hand, trying to figure it out.

He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He…he…

"Sapphire, I don't know what to do!"

On the other side, Sapphire begged, "Steven, _please!_ "

Eyes hot, Steven gasped out, "Ruby—!"

"Steven, _shut up!_ "

Ruby turned back to the disk. Her palm pressed onto its surface, and bright outlines appeared around her hand and between her fingers. Her eyes went to the chest.

As Ruby pressed the disk to the chest's front, Steven's mind went numb. Sapphire was begging him to stop Ruby. Ruby was so sure of herself. This was Ruby's thing, _their_ thing, but he didn't know what was in the chest and he just—!

He hid his eyes behind his hands and fell to his knees just as he heard the chest top swing open.

…

…

…

Everything was silent.

Steven's eyes cracked open.

Ruby sat on her knees in front of the chest. The pink light shone down on her.

The silence rang in Steven's ears.

Ruby's hands lifted up and into the chest.

Something clicked and tinkled inside.

With shaking knees, Steven pulled himself up to his feet. He took a step forward, then another.

Ruby lifted her cupping hands up from the box. Steven stopped.

Something was dripping—no, falling—from Ruby's hands. When it fell back into the chest, it clicked and clacked.

It was red. Bright red, and solid. Glittering in the light.

It was in pieces.

It was pieces.

Shards.

Red shards.

Shards as red as Ruby's Gem.

A chest filled with them.

Filled to the brim.

 _So many shards._

In the silence, something crumbled. Chips and chunks of the hardened rock fell away as Sapphire stepped into the room.

Steven stepped aside as she went to Ruby.

She sank down on her knees beside her.

Ruby said nothing.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you."

Ruby said nothing.

Sapphire breathed.

"I—we—should have told you from the beginning. But…in every future, in every possibility, I saw you hurt. Of course you'd be hurt…I tried to put it off. For years and years."

Ruby said nothing.

"It was your right to know. I'm so sorry."

Ruby whispered, "What happened?"

Sapphire breathed again.

"Homeworld thought Rubies were too…insufficient to spend resources on. They thought they could use them on larger warriors. So they stopped making Rubies and gathered up the ones they already had. They broke them and put the shards in armor."

Ruby said nothing.

Sapphire's hand reached over to Ruby's shoulder.

"Ruby, I want you to listen to me. You may or may not take my words to heart, but you need to know that you are not an expendable piece in a game. You're not just a Ruby. You are so much more than that. _So_ much."

Ruby said nothing.

Sapphire held out a hand to Ruby.

Ruby's hand hesitated. Her Gem glinted in the pink light as it slid into Sapphire's palm.

Ruby stumbled onto her feet, but Sapphire kept their hands together.

Just as Sapphire opened her lips, Ruby's arms wrapped around the blue Gem and squeezed them together.

Sapphire's hands at first froze at Ruby's sides. Soon, though, they had wrapped around Ruby's waist. She rested her chin on Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby pulled back. Any fire in her eyes had flickered out. Steven had never seen her face so cold.

It was Ruby's turn to be surprised when Steven's arms wrapped around her and all but crushed her against him.

"Our Ruby."

It was a long time before Ruby returned the embrace.

It was also a long time until they were all walking back to the Warp Pad. It was still dark out, but Steven could see the sheepish smile on Ruby's face as she and Sapphire apologized to one another. Ruby noted how Sapphire was stronger than she thought, and Sapphire complimented the Gem for surprising her. Ruby chuckled, and when Steven cried that they had successfully scared the life out of him, she and Sapphire laughed.

However, as her boot touched the Warp Pad, Ruby said, "Oh, wait!"

She turned back for the pyramid.

* * *

Inside Ruby's Room, the chest appeared in a red Bubble.


	27. The Dance

Steven tugged at the red bowtie around his neck. He usually didn't dress in formal attire, but tonight was a special occasion, and he wanted to look his best. So, along with the bowtie, he was wearing a complete tuxedo and dress shoes. He tried to style his hair into something other than its usual mop, but it was a lost battle.

"Alright, Mister Fancypants, put your hat on!"

The top hat, with a scarlet band wrapped around its base, was shoved into his chest. Steven chuckled at Ruby's eagerness and pulled it over his curls.

A pair of white gloves, almost identical to those on the hands holding them, were also passed to him.

As he pulled them on, Sapphire chimed, "Wonderful choice, by the way."

She sent him a smile, and then stepped out of the way of the third Crystal Gem. Opal brought the red paper rose to Steven's breast and fiddled with it until it was pinned in place.

"And…there you go." She patted the top of his hat with a grin that stretched over her face. "My perfect gentleman. Picture!"

Her bottom pair of arms lifted up the camera to her eyes. As she aimed it at Steven, the flashbulb clicking from the top, Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Opal, you took a picture just a minute ago. And two hundred times before that."

"I didn't forget," Opal clipped back. "I just want to capture every single moment."

Instead of clicking the button to take the picture, she—like every single time before—slapped the flashbulb back into the camera. She grinned again. "I got it!"

Steven didn't have the heart to tell her the truth, so he just turned back to the mirror. He fiddled with the curls around his ears, and then turned back to the others with a smirk.

"Now, do I look smooth, or do I look…" He tipped the brim of his top hat and winked. _"Smooth?"_

Opal sang, "Smooth. As. Silk _._ "

Sapphire summoned a patch of slick ice at Steven's feet and slid him over it. "Smooth."

At the kitchen island, Ruby, slowly sinking down on one of the seats, cried, "So smooth I'm sliding out of this chair!"

Steven chuckled, and Opal (to her belief) took another picture. Sapphire stepped forward to tinker with his bowtie again.

"You guys can calm down a little, you know," Steven said.

"We're calm," Sapphire replied. "We just want every little detail to be absolutely perfect."

"Thanks for clarifying."

There was a knock at the door, and all eyes went to it. The late afternoon was dark, so they only saw a silhouette on the other side of the screen.

As it shuffled, a familiar voice called, "Steven?"

"It's happening," whispered Ruby. Her voice raised an octave as she cried, "She's here! It's happening!"

Sapphire was lightly pushed out of the way so that Opal's four hands could go to Steven. They pulled out his wrinkles, fixed his curls, and dusted off his shoulders all at once. Sapphire picked up the camera that Opal dropped.

"Okay, okay, he's ready. _SOMEONE GET THE DOOR."_

Ruby ran to it in two seconds flat and pulled it open.

Connie stood on the doorstep in a battered green T-shirt, loose blue pants, and worn brown boots that came up to her knees. She had a dark cape going down to the back of her calves, tied at her chest with a yellow baby pin. One hand was covered in an oversized brown glove and the other's forearm was wrapped in gauze.

She smiled at everyone as she stepped into the Room. She wasn't wearing her glasses and instead had her left eye covered in an eyepatch.

"Hey, everyone. Sorry for being early."

Ruby snapped her fingers at her. "Still fashionable!"

"Oh, Connie!" Opal trilled. "You look fantastic!"

She took the camera from Sapphire and once again popped the bulb up. As she slapped it back down a bit too proudly, Connie furrowed her brows, but didn't say anything about it.

Instead, she looked past the Crystal Gems to Steven. "Are you ready?"

"Yep! Wait. No."

Steven dashed to the sofa and picked up his mask. It was painted white and shaped like a skull, wrapping around his eyes and covering his forehead. The mask didn't have a bottom jaw, so its teeth went across Steven's lips as he pulled it on.

" _Now_ I'm ready." Steven tilted his hat again and smirked. "How do I look, Miss Lisa?"

Connie tossed her cape back dramatically. "Positively enthralling, Signor Skeletal."

"You both look absolutely chic," said Ruby. She clicked her tongue. "Buuuuut I have no idea what or who you guys are."

Connie tossed her cape back again and put a hand on her hip. "I am Lisa, the protagonist of _The_ _Spirit Morph Saga_! I am on a mission to save my father from the one-eyed man, and also, the WORLD!"

Steven took off his top hat and rolled it down his arm. (He was practicing the trick for days.) He held the brim up to his face like a fan. "I am Signor Skeletal, the all-powerful antagonist of the classic cartoon _Sukeruton Sensō_ _!_ I am on a mission to stop Captain Wonder and also make people more aware of the series because it was cancelled after one season because of creator drama…"

Connie's hands curled into pumping fists. "We _have_ to win the costume contest!"

"Contest." Ruby's eyebrow and lips both rose. "What's the prize?"

"Well, Ronaldo Fryman's hosting the party," explained Connie. "So the first-place prize is a bunch of Beach Citywalk Fries coupons, a gift card to the theater, and a cool pair of sunglasses."

Steven crossed his fingers. "Free fry bits…Free fry bits…!"

"Well." Ruby clapped her hands together and waved them to the door. "You're going to want to go ahead and go if you want to catch that contest."

"Be careful crossing the roads," Sapphire advised.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Opal took two long strides to the kitchen and reached inside the fridge. After a moment of rummaging, she shut it behind her and returned to the kids with a plastic baggie in hand.

"I made you some snacks in case you get hungry!"

Steven glanced to the bag. Inside, it looked like Opal had made PB&J sandwiches—that is, peanut butter and jalapeño.

"There are going to be snacks at the party, Opal. We'll be fine."

"Oh. Okay." Opal set the baggie aside with a smile. "More for me, then."

"Okay, guys, we're off!" As he and Connie trotted to the front door, Steven called over his shoulder, "We'll call you if anything goes wrong!"

"Hold on."

Sapphire picked up the camera and pointed it at them. Steven and Connie both struck their signature poses, and the bulb flashed at them. The photograph spat out of the camera's mouth.

As he closed the door behind them, Steven heard Opal exclaim, "Wait, what did you just do?"

* * *

The party was going to be in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of one of Beach City's many ocean-side cliffs. It was a common place for parties and other events, and since there was nothing dangerous about it, the officials had no problem with people being inside. Even so, one wall was almost entirely missing, the roof was almost caved in, and every window was cracked or shattered.

Usually, it was a lifeless place. Not tonight.

Steven and Connie continued up the hill to the warehouse, and the music inside beat louder and louder. Light seemed to ooze out of the building, red and pink and purple. An occasional spotlight would flash out.

They finally made it to the door, and when Steven put a hand on it, he could feel the rhythm in his bones.

He grinned at Connie. "You ready?"

Connie popped the collar of her cape. "Let's do it, Signor."

Steven pushed the door open.

Inside, everything seemed to be made of electric color. The lights flashed and strobed to the beat of the music blasting from the speakers set up seemingly everywhere. Dry ice created a smoky haze around the floor. Almost everyone inside was wearing a costume of sorts, from vampires to werewolves to the more outlandish lobsters and gorilla-robots. Glow sticks were thrown around necks and wrists, so when anyone moved, they left neon streaks in the air. The other side of the room had a makeshift stage, and above it was a black banner with dripping scarlet letters reading _SPOOKY SCARY SPOOKTACULAR!_

It took a moment for Steven to get used to it all. Connie did, too, blinking in surprise for a few moments until she finally pulled herself together.

"You good?" Steven yelled over the thrum.

"Yeah," Connie yelled back to him. "This is just a little discombobulating, you know?"

"No, I don't!"

"Why don't we head over to the snack table?!"

"I don't know what that word means, either!"

Connie just pointed over to the snack table, and Steven finally nodded. The mass of dancers in the middle of the warehouse had a sort of uneven boundary, so it wasn't much of a fight walking over. As an added bonus, the music went from a bone-rattling thrum to a still-upbeat but easygoing pop song.

The snack table was covered in a spider web tablecloth and plastic spiders to match. Besides that, there were bowls and plates of all kinds of snack foods, from chips and dips and candies and everything in-between. The end of the table had two great bowls of deep red punch. One was labeled _Vampire Blood_ , the other _Diet Vampire Blood_.

"Oh my gosh!" Steven waved a gloved hand to all of the food and the little orange cards set before them. "They all have spooky puns on them!"

Connie looked at a plate of donuts; all covered in black and orange icing and spider sprinkles. She giggled at the card. "'Donut Go Into the Woods!'"

Steven pointed to a plate of miniature sandwiches, all speared with toothpicks topped with pointed black hats. "'Sandwitches'!"

Connie picked up a cookie with a sugary knife stabbed into it. "'Cookie cutters!'"

Steven gasped and pointed to a bowl at the end. It was full of vanilla ice cream and dotted with gummy eyeballs.

He and Connie read the label together. "'Eye scream, you scream, we all scream for eyece cream!"

They both chuckled, and Steven's eyes roamed the table once more. They fell on a bowl at the middle, filled with...

"No way!" Steven reached over into the bowl and dug out a small handful. "Fry bits! A whole bunch of fry bits!"

While he tossed the handful of bits into his open mouth, Connie looked at the label and clicked her tongue in disappointment. "They didn't give them a cool name, though."

Steven narrowed his eyes at her as he fished for another handful. _"Fry bits are no punny matter."_

While Connie smiled in bafflement, two familiar figures approached the table. Jenny and Buck both crowded around the Vampire Blood together, Jenny reaching for the ladle. Jenny was a zombie bride of sorts, wearing a tattered wedding dress and dark circles around her eyes. Buck looked almost the same as usual, but was wearing a leather jacket and pointier shades. They were talking to each other, and Jenny tossed her shredded veil back.

Steven leaned around Connie and waved. "Hey, Buck! Hey, Jenny!"

Jenny took a gulp of Blood and smiled back, full lips smeared in scarlet. "Hey, Steven. You just get here?"

"Yeah," replied Steven. "What about you guys?"

"We've been here since it started," Jenny replied. "We always come when Sour Cream DJs."

She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. At the DJ's set, Sour Cream was bobbing his head to the music. He must have been a robot of sorts, since he was wrapped in tinfoil with plastic tube pieces around his arms. Steven was pretty sure he wore that costume at every occasion.

Steven nodded, then turned back to Jenny. "So what are you guys going to be?"

"Zombie bride," Jenny said in a mock-growl. Then she held her chin high and set a hand on her hip. "Because even in death, I still look good."

When all eyes turned to Buck, he coolly replied, "I'm Buck."

Steven frowned. "You're always Buck."

"But tonight, I'm the _Cooler Buck_."

A shine slid across his shades while he took a drink of Vampire Blood. Steven and Connie gasped in awe.

"What about you guys?" said Jenny. She was refilling her cup of Blood again, but had her eyes on them. "I see skeleton in a tuxedo and...A hunter?"

"I'm Signor Skeletal, from the old cartoon _Sukeruton Sensō_."

Connie shyly ducked her head and replied, "I'm Lisa, from the Spirit Morph Saga."

Jenny nodded. "Well, might I say that you two have very original costumes. You have a good chance in the costume contest."

Connie asked, "Are you guys staying the whole party?"

"Nah. Once Sour Cream peaces out, we're all going to the lighthouse."

Steven frowned again. The lighthouse was perched on top of the Temple, and although he couldn't say that he went there often, he knew that there wasn't much to it. It was a dusty, barren place that hardly had anything in it. He wasn't even sure who turned it on.

"Why the lighthouse? There's nothing inside."

"Or so you think." Jenny set her cup down. Clasping her fingers together, she leaned down to Steven and Connie. "Legend says that if you go to the lighthouse during a dark autumn night, keep all the lights out, and spin the light around three times, a tortured soul will appear!"

Connie's eyebrows went up in interest, but Steven could feel shivers going up and down his spine. His mask started to feel sticky on his face. He never liked really spooky stuff; it always gave him the heebie-jeebies!

"What does it do?" he asked. He thanked himself for not breaking his voice.

"No one knows." Jenny chuckled and stood straight. "But the last person who tried it was never seen again."

"Who was the last person who tried it?"

"I don't know."

"Wait, if doing all that summons a soul that makes you disappear, then how do people know it works? Everyone who tries it doesn't get to tell anyone."

Connie added, "Who tried it to begin with?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jenny held up her hands defensively. "I didn't make the legend, I'm just telling it."

Okay, so it was definitely spooky...but there would probably be more people there, besides the Cool Kids. It'd be fun to go the lighthouse at night, too, and Connie could come along.

Steven asked, "So is anyone invited to go?"

Jenny smiled apologetically. She swished her Blood in her cup. "Well...It's kind of a teenager thing, Steven."

Steven opened his mouth to retort, but Connie spoke first. "How come?"

Buck spoke up. "It's a serious thing. Who knows what can go wrong in a dark, haunted lighthouse."

"Well, why are you going, then?"

Buck slowly and steadily drank down the rest of his Blood. He smacked his lips and turned his head to Connie and Steven. "I'm brave."

The conversation was cut short by the sudden stop of music. While everything went quiet, all eyes turned to the makeshift stage set up at the end of the warehouse.

Ronaldo Fryman walked up to the microphone set up at the edge of the stage. Steven had to hand it to him; he went all out with his sneople costume. His clothes were covered in shiny green scale patterns, and he had more on the skin of his arms and face. Those coupled with the fangs and the leather-skin shoes, made him look like a real reptile-human hybrid.

"Alright, horror lovers!" The fangs gave his voice a lisp. "It's time for the costume contest! If you're in, get up here!"

Steven and Connie both made their way to the stage. The crowd easily let them pass, thankfully. A few whoops of encouragement went to the contestants.

Steven and Connie stood side-by-side, along with four other contestants. The lights were bright in their faces, and Connie was ducking her head again. However, an encouraging smile from Steven got her to lift her chin up again.

"Okay, everybody. Let's get started. Cheer for your winner!"

He started at the far end and lifted his hand over a girl dressed as a mermaid in a scaly long dress and seashell top. A decent amount of people cheered. He moved to the gorilla, then the ninja, then the mummy. The cheers increased with each contestant.

When he came to Connie, Ronaldo held the microphone up to his mouth. "Tell us who you're supposed to be."

He held the microphone to Connie. She smiled awkwardly and fought not to murmur, "Lisa from the Spirit Morph Saga."

"I've heard of it, I've heard of it." Ronaldo lifted a hand over her head. "How about it?"

Steven grinned at the cheers Connie received. A few people, maybe other fans, whooped for her. Steven had to admit—without putting the other contestants down—that the crowd had to appreciate the detail Connie had. Connie, meanwhile, blushed under the praise and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyepatch.

When the cheers stopped, Ronaldo moved to Steven. His eyes narrowed at Steven's tuxedo, his mask, and his top hat, and lifted the microphone to his mouth. "Are you Signor Skeletal from _Sukeruton Sensō_?"

Steven nodded, half-amused and half-relieved that at least someone knew what it was. When the microphone was held to him, he cheered, "You know it!"

Ronaldo nodded and turned to the crowd. "We got a classic here, ladies and gentleman! How about Signor Skeletal?"

Steven rolled his hat down his arm and held it to his face once more, this time as Ronaldo lifted a hand up to him.

He couldn't tell whether he got more or just as much praise as Connie here. The Cool Kids whooped for him, and he saw Sadie, dressed as a blue fairy, waving and cheering. He also got a few more claps for his hat trick, as he had planned.

Ronaldo went back to the other end of the line, held a hand above all the contestants, and started walking. The further he moved, the cheers and applause swelled and dropped like the crashing of waves. Steven noticed with a swell of pride that the volume went louder when Ronaldo reached him and Connie.

The mermaid went first, then the mummy, then the gorilla. They all got a bag of candy for their time, so no one left in a sour mood.

When the ninja was dismissed as third place, Connie and Steven sent each other ecstatic grins. Steven was so proud—Connie was so close to winning!

For the last time, Ronaldo moved his hand between the two contestants. Each time he moved, it seemed that the gusto of the crowd remained the same. Each of them got a few whoops and a few cheers. At one point, Jenny yelled, "ORIGINALITY!"

After a minute of this, Ronaldo leaned back and put a hand on his hip. He chewed his lip. "Seems here like we've got a tie."

A few retorting cries came from the audience. Surely Ronaldo would have to do another match. If he did, then Steven was about to point at Connie for all of his followers. She totally deserved this!

Ronaldo leaned back down to them and held up his microphone. "What do you guys say? Want to settle this?"

Steven was almost going to go with his plan, but Connie replied, "I'm good with a tie."

The microphone went to him before he was prepared. He wasn't upset, of course, if anything, he was happy.

At Connie's smile, Steven nodded and replied, "Sounds good to me!"

"Alright! Ladies and gentleghouls, our costume contest winners!"

A final chorus of cheers and applause rang through the warehouse. At least, everyone seemed happy that Steven and Connie were satisfied. Ronaldo dug into his back pocket and pulled out the stack of coupons, divided them in half, and gave an equal number to Steven and Connie. When he held up the sunglasses and gift card, Steven couldn't help but lift the so-very-awesome sunglasses in awe. Connie chuckled and took the card.

When everything went quiet once again, Ronaldo gave a newly-invigorated smile and declared into the microphone, "Our winners have one more honor for their victory this evening!"

Steven and Connie shared a glance. They didn't know about this, but they were all ears!

"These two get the pleasure of being the first to dance to...The Ghoul Getdown!"

Whoops, applause, and cheers filled the air, one of which came from Steven. "The Ghoul Getdown" was a very cheesy song, even if it was about monsters and witches and whatnot. However, it had a great rhythm to it, it was family-friendly and just really goofy, so it was a common song to hear at horror-themed gatherings like this. Also, Steven could do the Ghoul Getdown like it was nobody's business.

"Come on, winners!" Ronaldo waved to the crowd. The people began parting to make a small clearing big enough for an impromptu dancefloor. "Let's get down!"

Steven, smiling from ear to ear, turned to Connie...and stopped.

Her one uncovered eye was staring at the crowd unblinkingly. She was so stiff, and her jaw was clenched tight. The skin of her face was both pale and flushed somehow. Steven suspected that if he poked her, she would fall over sideways.

"Well?"

Steven glanced between Ronaldo and Connie. Connie was still staring ahead, but Ronaldo was watching them both expectantly. The crowd was waiting.

Steven gestured Ronaldo forward and whispered into his ear. Connie swallowed, and as everyone kept watching, her eyes went to her boots.

She flinched when Ronaldo leaned back from Steven with a chuckle. He turned back to the crowd and lifted the microphone back to his fangs.

"Unfortunately, it seems that one of our contestants has a case of _boogie fever_!"

The crowd chuckled good-naturedly. A few partygoers voiced their disappointment, and someone near the back half-yelled, half-sang "YOU CAN DANCE IF YOU WANT TO~!" Ronaldo waved his free hand at them again.

"So! They're going to pick the new Getdown leader! Who's it going to be?"

Steven turned.

Connie wasn't there. On the other side of the warehouse, a door was swinging close. Only he noticed, everyone else probably assuming that Connie had just stepped offstage.

Steven quickly turned back to the crowd and scanned it. Everyone was staring back at him anxiously. A few shy folks were ducking behind their friends, Sadie included. Her cover (AKA Lars) rolled his eyes and took a sip of Blood.

His eyes fell on a familiar face, and he pointed them out to Ronaldo. "Let's get Miss Bumble, huh?"

The crowd parted for the dancer. Nanafua, dressed in a fuzzy bumblebee costume, gasped when all eyes turned to her. A starry smile came to her small, wrinkled mouth.

"Alright, Bumblebee! Let's see what you've got!"

The crowd welcomed Nanafua with gusto, and the opening howl of "The Ghoul Getdown" sounded through the speakers. The lights turned blue and purple, and the dry ice smoke returned. The singer's boisterous voice boomed out.

" _Alright, ghosts and ghouls!_

 _Dust off your bones and get out those claws!_

 _We're about to get spooky in here!_

 _Everyone get ready for the GHOOOOUL GEEETDOOOOWN!"_

Steven dashed off of the stage and to the door. No one minded him, more focused on Nanafua's sick dance moves. The cheering and hollering continued, as did the music.

" _When I was working at the graveyard hour,  
I looked up the hill at the Old Haunted Tower._

 _Oh my, I was given such a fright!_

 _When I saw that the windows were all a-light!"_

It was all muffled when Steven shut the door behind him. Outside, the air was cool and the night was clear. There wasn't another soul in sight, and the lights of the warehouse illuminated everything.

Connie sat on a tree stump not too far from the cliff's edge. She had slipped off her eyepatch and had her boots resting against the stump. She was picking bits of bark off and chipping them between her fingers.

Steven lifted his hat to slip his mask off. Connie didn't stir when he walked up beside her.

"Hey." Steven stuffed his mask into his pocket and said, "It's kind of cold out here."

"I'm fine," mumbled Connie. She let a handful of bark chips fall through her fingers.

"Are you sure? I don't want you getting sick. Then I'd be a _guilty party_."

Connie gave a short chuckle. The smile on her lips had no effect on her eyes.

Steven slipped his shoes off and sat down on the grass. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, since he was in a tuxedo, but he didn't care.

"What's wrong? Don't you like the party? Is it too spooky-scary?"

"I like it." Connie pulled the hood of her cape back with a sigh. "But if I go back in now, everyone's going to be looking at me."

"You sure? 'Cause Nanafua's breaking it down in there, let me tell you."

Connie sighed again. "It's just...I don't like it when so many people are looking at me. It makes me feel all tight and shaky and I can't breathe right..."

"Are you allergic to crowds?"

"Kind of."

Steven set his hat in his lap. "They were only looking at you because they were having fun. No one was angry. Why would they be?"

"Okay, but what if I screwed up? What if I slipped or something? Everyone would laugh and I'd probably start crying and I would just get more embarrassed and...Ugh!" Connie hid her grimace behind her hand. Once again, her face went pale and pink.

"Well, that's just worrying too much. And besides, if you laugh with them, no one cares."

"But it's hard to just laugh it off when it's happening to you! And..." Connie leaned close to Steven and whispered like it was a secret. "I don't know how to do the Ghoul Getdown."

 _"What?!"_

Connie shushed him sharply. "Quiet! I just...never got the moves right, and I could never move on the beat. It would be so awkward to just explain that to everyone."

"Conniiiiiiie..." Steven pulled himself up to his feet and tutted. He pulled his top hat back over his curls. "If you don't know the moves, why didn't you just ask for lessons? Come hither, my student!"

He stepped back and waved her forward. He couldn't tell whether the look on Connie's face was a smile or a grimace.

"Steven, uh...We don't have to do it, you can just go back into the—"

A gloved finger was pressed to her lips. "Hush, child. Let me be your muse."

Connie rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smile that came to her face. She reluctantly stood up from the tree stump, tucking her eyepatch into her back pocket beneath her cape.

When she was ready, Steven snapped his fingers. "Now, pay attention!"

With the music still pumping out of the warehouse, Steven demonstrated the moves. First, he moved his arms side-to-side, with his fingers bent like claws. A quick snap of his fingers, and his hands circled around his head to his shoulders. The main move was hopping on one leg while the other shook to the beat, then switching them. You were supposed to do the Getdown at the chorus, and between, you could dance to your heart's content.

"Got it?" he asked Connie.

"I think...so?" Connie moved her arms side-to-side. "Swing...Snap..." Her hands circled her head. "Head...and...Shake?"

She half-heartedly mimicked the bouncing-leg move. Even so, Steven nodded with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Now come here, let's do it together!"

He pulled Connie beside him. While they waited for the chorus to come back, Connie sent Steven a shy smile.

" _Inside the tower, at that midnight hour:  
Witches, goblins, monster clowns!  
They all had one thing in common:  
They were doing the Ghoul Getdown!"_

Steven and Connie swung their clawed hands side-to-side. Steven bared his teeth, making Connie giggle.

" _They did the Getdown,  
Yes, they did the Ghoul Getdown!"_

They snapped their fingers in unison, and Connie copied Steven's hand moves. It was easier than it looked.

" _None of their fangs had a single frown,  
as the music bounced all around."_

When they got to the leg-bounce, Connie couldn't help but laugh. It felt ridiculous to do, but it was fun. Steven was laughing too, but while he kept his balance, Connie's laughing was throwing her off-beat.

" _And they did the Ghoul Getdown!  
Yes, they did the Ghoul Getdown!"_

When they switched legs, Connie tried to catch up again, but lost her balance. She yelped as she swung sideways, her back twisting to face the ground.

Instead, she (although kind of roughly) fell against something sturdy. Steven stumbled when Connie collided with him. Thankfully, though, he kept his balance, and was able to look down at Connie. She was half-fallen, half-leaning against him, her back to his chest and her head against his collarbone. There was nothing graceful about it, but she wasn't hurt.

"You good?" asked Steven. He was trying to ignore how close she was, and how his face was heating up.

She nodded, but her eyes didn't look away from him. "I still can't dance."

A laugh bubbled up in Steven's mouth. Connie stared for a moment, wondering why, but started to giggle herself. They just stood there, laughing, not caring how close they were, not caring about the pink warmth in their cheeks. The song went forgotten.

Steven just felt so light in that moment, so weightless, and he hardly even noticed that something was shining between him and Connie. The two of them were cast in a bright pink glow, but he couldn't care less, he was just so happy and...

And...

...

Um...

…

Okay, there was the sky. That was easy to tell. The music was still going.

Fingers. Still had fingers.

Could still move them, but it shouldn't feel this weird.

Legs, elbows, toes...Could still move them, too. In, out, flex.

It wasn't that hard to sit up, but it was such a weightless movement. So easy.

Everything felt the same, but nothing did.

Could still feel the breeze and the grass…they were new, but familiar. Why was everything contradicting?

Was this a dream? Why? When?

What was happening?

"Steven?" It was Connie, but it wasn't Connie, it wasn't anyone familiar. "Where are you?"

"I'm here." The same voice, but it was Steven, but it was Connie, and it was coming from both of them, but only one voice. "Where..."

Wait.

Hold on.

This can't—

There's no way—

"OH MY GOSH!"

They stood up so quickly the world span around them. Their two feet stumbled to find gravity, and they almost tripped over their four shoes. Every movement was so peculiarly effortless. A single thought and their body led them all by itself.

Themselves. What?

"What? What? I...Wait, is this you? Is this me? How...Oh my gosh! We fused! _We fused_!"

They looked down at their two tan hands. They had longer fingers than either of them had, but so easy to move. Their legs were the same, long and slim. Steven's dress pants and Connie's trousers were layered atop one another. They were still wearing the blazer, too, but the cape was pulled over it.

"Ohhhh…"

The gloves were too tight now...They tugged them off easily, and slowly tucked them into their pocket, where their masks were. They now noticed that, unlike Garnet or Moonstone, they didn't have any extra eyes or limbs. Still, they were taller now, at least as tall as the two of them combined. Maybe as tall _as_ Garnet.

It was hard to describe how it felt exactly, but it wasn't bad. Not at all. Weird and new, but actually kind of _nice._ Not just in a thrilling way, but in a comforting way, too, like being wrapped in a blanket. It was kind of relaxing. Is this what it felt like whenever the Crystal Gems fused?

"This is so...weird. But great! I didn't think I could do this! But wait...Are you okay with this? I didn't mean to, we can—No, no! It's okay. I just...Let's try it out."

Their leg moved forward, their foot touched the grass. Then the other leg, then the other. They started off stiffly at first, but started to become natural, letting each other lead them. They bent down to pick up their shoes and put Steven's hat back on. A smile came to their lips, and they tucked their hair behind their ear. It fell to their thighs in a thick, heavy drape of dark curls.

"This is so cool! Steven, do you understand how great this is? Yeah, we can go into Funland and ride the Ferris wheel now! I mean...Yeah, we can do that. But we could do so many more things! Like...Like...Oh! The Crystal Gems! They would want to hear about—Oof!"

They tripped over a rock and fell to the ground with a grunt.

"Sorry. I wasn't looking. I'm okay."

* * *

They didn't know how long it took to get back to the Temple. After walking, they were jogging, then running, and it was like they could do it forever and ever, they had so much energy in them!

So in the midst of it, they didn't take time to consider how the Crystal Gems would react. They couldn't get the exact scene in their head, but they just assumed they'd be proud. Happy, maybe delighted, but proud at least.

So because they did not consider how the Crystal Gems would react:

"Guys! We're back!"

They said it as they threw the door open, one hand on their hip and one foot in the Room. They probably looked a little ridiculous as a tuxedo-skeleton-teenage-book-protagonist hybrid in a top hat and no shoes, but they couldn't care less. They needed to be seen no matter what.

Opal was at the island with the silverware drawer set out in front of her. She was arranging them into spoons, forks, knives, and miscellaneous, then by color and size. Ruby was underneath the sofa and using it as a bench lift. Sapphire was up in Steven's loft with the television on.

However, they all turned to the door when it opened, and they all stopped still.

The fusion stared at them.

They stared back at the fusion.

The fusion smiled.

Ruby set the sofa down one last time and stood up as straight as a needle.

"Who are you and what are you doing in our home?"

The fusion's eyes narrowed incredulously, but they kept smiling. "What?"

Sapphire turned off the television (and _Crying Breakfast Friends)_ without turning away from the fusion in the doorway. Ruby, however, remained rigid. Opal was just staring at them with the silverware still spread out.

"SPEAK," Ruby commanded.

The fusion flinched at her sudden barking. Fumbling for words, they spilled out, "Wh—It's me! Us!"

Ruby's eyes searched behind them, even without anyone else on the deck.

"Who's 'us'? Are you part of a gang or something?"

"No, no, no." Opal held her hands up and scowled at Steven/Connie. "If a bunch of humans in leather come out and start snapping their fingers, I'm out. I'm not doing this today."

"Hey." Sapphire raised her voice just enough to catch Ruby and Opal's attention. Even so, her face remained turned to the person in the doorway. "Those are Steven and Connie's clothes."

The second she said it, the fusion just realized what was going on. A smile came to their lips, and they tried not to chuckle. Of course the Crystal Gems wouldn't recognize them. They looked completely different, and Steven's Gem was covered up.

Also, they were only one person. That was another factor.

They opened their mouth to—

Ruby's gauntlets flashed onto her hands. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM?!"

" _Wait—!"_

"ARE YOU WEARING THEIR CLOTHES AS A PRIZE, YOU SICK _FIEND?!"_

Opal, with a trembling hand, pointed a spoon at them and growled, _"Where is my baby?"_

"I _am_ —"

There was another flash of light and the telltale hum of a summoned Weapon. Sapphire's voice slipped down from the loft, lined in a growl that was so unusual for her. _"I'm about to mess somebody up nasty."_

"It's _us!_ It's Steven _and_ Connie! Here, look!"

They reached down to the hems of their shirts and lifted them up their waist. Sure enough, there was the rose Gem just above the line of their pants. It was surrounded in tanner skin, embedded in a different belly, but there was no denying what it was.

The lightbulbs in the Crystal Gems' heads flickered on one-by-one. Sapphire's knuckledusters retreated into her Gem as her full lips parted. Ruby's gauntlets and her eyebrows lowered at the same time. Opal dropped the spoon in her hand and paid no mind as it clattered on the floorboards.

A soft whisper came from Ruby. _"What the deuce…?"_

"It is." Sapphire descended the stairs in a mere second. She stood by Ruby's side and never took her gaze off of the fusion in the doorway. "I wasn't looking before, but it really is them."

"No, seriously. The deuce?"

"Yeah, it's us!" They ran a hand through their thick curls. Admittedly, they were trying and failing to be cool. "Isn't it great? We were just dancing together and _boom."_

They flicked their cape back. _"Perfection."_

"…I have so many questions," Ruby mumbled as her gauntlets finally disappeared. She turned to Sapphire. "How is this possible?"

Sapphire had once again returned to her usual cool composure. But even as they remained at her sides, her hands turned palm-facing to Ruby with a silent _How should I know?_

It was a bit awkward that they weren't paying the fusion much attention. Even so, said fusion remained silent, albeit rocking on their heels as they did so.

Ruby raised a hand to her chin. "Maybe he can do this because he's half-human? I have no idea…Opal, what do you think?"

All eyes turned to the fourth…third Crystal Gem in the Room.

Opal was still staring at the fusion with wide eyes and a hanging jaw. She wasn't even blinking, and her arms hung limp at her sides. No one was sure if she even heard Ruby.

But then, even though she didn't speak, her voice came from her gaping mouth.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah…"

Her hands began to lift with the corners of her mouth. The pitch of her voice grew higher.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah…!"

Her hands pressed against her cheeks. As the others shrank back in bafflement, Opal's eyes went starrier than the night sky. Her voice grew into a full-grown shriek.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Ruby held out an arm and guided Sapphire backwards.

Opal appeared in front of the fusion with such speed that she almost teleported. She snatched up the fusion's hands in hers. The fusion remained still and confused, but Opal was dancing on her toes, her hair was bouncing, and her eyes were practically nebulas at this point.

"It's you~!" she sang. "It's you~! It's you~!"

The fusion smiled back at her. "It's me~!"

"Tell me everything!" Opal's voice came out in an eager gush. She had stopped dancing at last, but she still squeezed the fusion's fingers in hers. "Tell me every single detail!"

"Um…" they cleared their throat. "Well, we were at the party, and I… _we_ won the costume contest, but when they wanted us to do the Ghoul Getdown, I—Connie got shy and left. So, Steven went out to teach her how to do it, and they did, and I just…came here."

It was so weird to talk about themselves in third and first person at the same time. They were three different people at once—how confusing was that?

"But how did it _feel?_ " Opal's grin was desperate. "That moment _right_ when it happened, what was it like?"

"It was…light." At Opal's nod, they continued, "And warm. It didn't hurt, and we almost didn't notice."

They smiled. "It was great."

Ruby and Sapphire listened with interest. Even so, they kept looking up at Opal, as if for affirmation or something. But Opal was just the opposite. She looked almost to explode with joy.

"And now?"

"I still feel great! Weird, but great!"

"As you should!"

Opal finally turned back to the others. She threw an arm around the fusion's shoulders and another around their hip. They hadn't noticed before, but like this, they weren't so terribly shorter than Opal now.

"Aren't they fantastic?" Opal chirped.

After a short pause, Sapphire held a thumbs-up.

Ruby did the same, but followed it with, "This still doesn't answer any questions. Like, if Steven can fuse with humans, can he fuse with Gems, too? How did he do it right this time? Maybe Steven…and Connie…Stevonnie should un-fuse?"

"Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. This?" Opal waved a hand down Stevonnie's form. "This is too good to question. It is what it is."

"Really?" It came from Stevonnie this time, and all eyes went to them. "I mean…this is kind of weird. I like it a lot, but if we should un-fuse, then—"

"Do you _want_ to un-fuse?"

Stevonnie's fingers twitched at their sides. "Not really, I guess. But—"

"No buts." Opal's arms slid off of Stevonnie's hip, only to place on their shoulders. "Listen to Opal for a second, kay?"

Stevonnie nodded without a word. Opal's face and body had finally stilled, but her eyes were a different story. Neither Steven nor Connie had seen so much fire in them before, and it made them fall silent.

"Stevonnie, what's happening to you now may seem confusing and weird. But, what you're feeling right now is _right._ "

"But what am I feeling?"

"'Right.' It's its own feeling. _But_ not everybody gets to feel it. You _are._ So you know what that means?"

"It's good?"

"It means you should enjoy every second of it. _So…_ "

Opal reached behind both of them and flung the front door open.

"Get out there and have some fun!"

Stevonnie couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Their bright eyes glanced between the open door and Opal's smile. "Really?"

"I don't give inspirational speeches every day, kid. _Go._ "

"Yes, ma'am!"

Stevonnie dashed out of the door without another word. Their footsteps faded down the stairs, and Opal closed the door behind them.

Ruby clicked her tongue. "We almost attacked them."

Sapphire nodded. "Indeed we did."

Opal shushed them without losing her smile.

* * *

To be honest, Stevonnie couldn't quite keep track of the time that followed.

They knew that they never stopped moving. They were always running or jumping or maybe just rocking on their heels. They were going up and down the beach, all through the sand, splashing through the seawater…Even when they tripped or lost their balance, they were just laughing like everything was just perfect.

And, in a way, it was. Without a worry on their shoulders, it was like they could do anything they wanted.

(Except flying. They tried and failed.)

People were always watching them in curiosity. Maybe it was because they were moving so much, or laughing so loudly. Something like that.

At one point, they made their way to the boardwalk, for no reason other than they could. They ducked into the arcade for a single game of car racing, then hopped straight out and kept moving once they were done. They stopped by Beach Citywalk fries for some bits, and _considered_ going by It's a Wash, but realized that maybe Greg would have a heart attack if he saw them and what they were.

At one point, they found the photo booth placed pretty randomly outside the shops. They hopped inside, slid in the quarters, and smiled for the camera.

And smiled. And smiled. And made a peace sign with their fingers. And smiled.

Yeah, since it was just the one of them, they couldn't really do much. They could make a few funny faces, but they couldn't pose with each other or do any poses together. When the strip of photos sputtered out, it was kind of disappointing to see that they were pretty much all the same.

Thumbing the strip between their fingers, a frown appeared on their lips. For the first time in the evening, a heavier feeling came to them. Maybe it was doubt? Hesitance? It couldn't be loneliness, they were literally...

"Are you okay?" A pause. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?" Another pause. "Yeah. You know, if you want to split up for a bit—No, no! This is fine. It's okay."

They left it at that and stuffed the strip of photos into their back pocket.

They finally stood still for a minute to ponder what they would do next. They could backtrack a bit and go back to the arcade, if it was still open. What time was it, anyway?

A flash in the corner of their eye snapped them back to attention. In the distance was one of Beach City's cliffs, one they had been to just earlier that evening. On that cliff was a building, and even though its shape was dark, it was shooting out beams of colorful light in every direction. Listening closely, they could hear the quiet beat of music.

"The party! I totally forgot!" A smile came to their face once more, and their bare feet were already moving. "At least we can do the Getdown now, right?"

It didn't take very long at all for them to make their way to the warehouse. They closer they got, however, the more people they could see outside the building. Even though the music and the lights were still going, a fair group had collected around the cars parked around the entrance.

They could make out the Cool Kids, then Lars and Sadie, and some other teenagers that they did not recognize. Buck was telling a story with a face as still as stone, but as he concluded, everyone erupted into laughter. Even Sour Cream was stifling himself behind his hand.

Sadie gasped for air. "How did you come up with that?"

Buck replied, "The inner mechanisms of my mind are hilarious."

This brought a few more chuckles, from Stevonnie included. Even though they could hear everything, they had yet to be noticed.

So they raised their voice and called, "Is the party over?"

Finally, heads turned to them. All smiles dropped to be replaced by wide eyes. Stevonnie stood still as dozens of eyes wandered over them. Disregarding their abnormal attire, gazes were fixed on their soft hair and bright eyes, and the grin that was beginning to falter. Cheeks began to flush, though for what reason, Stevonnie wasn't sure.

"No, not yet," Jenny finally spoke up. "But you did miss the Music Robot here."

She elbowed Sour Cream's side with a chuckle. Sour Cream mumbled a response with averted eyes, something not very usual of him.

Jenny continued, "We were all about to go up to the lighthouse for a bit."

"Right." Stevonnie's grin grew wider as they wiggled their fingers at the teens. "To check out the spooky-scary spirits, right?"

It brought on more chuckles than they'd thought it would. A few people suddenly began to squirm, rubbing at the backs of their necks or tucking hair behind their ears.

"You should come with us!"

To everyone's surprise, it came from Lars. He was dressed as a sort of greaser, with the tuft of red hair on his head slicked back and his arms bare in a leather vest. He was stiff as a rock, before and after all eyes turned to him. He didn't begin his usual panicked sweating, but his face was pink.

"If you want," he added in a quieter voice.

There was just a second's pause, and then there was a swell of voices. Everyone was smiling once more, and voices of "Yeah", "You should", and "Come on" filled the air. Lars was still frozen.

Stevonnie was reminded a second time that they were no longer recognizable as Steven Universe and/or Connie Maheswaran. To everyone's knowledge, they were a stranger in Beach City, someone who had come for the party. And although they didn't want to lie to everyone...they decided to roll with it. Besides, they looked like a teenager now, and only teenagers were allowed to go to the lighthouse, so...

"Yeah, sure! Sounds fun."

There were some whoops and exclamations of cheer. Then, everyone began to disperse for the vehicles, namely the Fish Pizza Jeep and someone else's van. Most were going for the van, since it had more room. Stevonnie lingered back for a bit so everyone could get the places they wanted. They didn't want to intrude.

When it seemed that the van was becoming packed, they moved for the Jeep. Jenny had already buckled herself in the driver's seat, and was saying something to Sour Cream, sitting beside her. Buck was behind Jenny.

Stevonnie walked up behind Sadie and was intending to wait for her to climb in. However, Sadie instead paused when she saw them, and took her foot out of the Jeep. She stumbled back and gestured forward with a big smile and pink cheeks.

"Here, you can go ahead! Y-You can sit beside me, if you want."

"Oh! Thanks, S...ssssso much!"

Sadie just nodded and tucked a nonexistent hair behind her ear. Stevonnie climbed into the Jeep beside Buck. Even though they were a bit bigger than the boy, they still only took up the middle seat.

"Um..."

At Sadie's voice, everyone turned to her and Lars. They were both standing beside the vehicle, eyeing each other and the seat that remained beside Stevonnie.

Oh, right. There were only five seats in the Jeep, and six of them. (Seven, technically, not that Stevonnie was going to say anything.)

"Right, right, right!" Stevonnie unbuckled themselves and climbed back out of the car. They chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. You two go ahead."

Lars struggled to spit out, "But there's no room for you!"

"Maybe I can catch a ride with the other—"

The van squealed away.

"...Or not." Stevonnie waved a hand. "Hey, don't worry about it. I don't want to split you up with your lady friend, right?"

She winked at the pair. They stiffened like rocks and just barely glanced at one another.

Stevonnie added, "I can walk."

"No, no, no! No newcomer is going to walk their feet sore on my watch. So…" Jenny clicked her tongue. "You know what this means, right?"

She smirked, and her eyes glinted. "One of you is going to have to share~."

Lars and Sadie looked at each other.

* * *

Sitting in Stevonnie's lap, Sadie craned her neck back and gave them a flustered smile. "So, uh...Have you been to Beach City before?"

"You can say that," they replied.

The Jeep took a turn down the street. Everyone was swayed to the side, and Lars (who was only sitting _beside_ Stevonnie, much to his chagrin) was squished against the door. He huffed and tried to cross his arms as comfortably as he could. Sadie paid him no mind and, as Stevonnie lightly held her to keep her from shifting around, tried to focus more on how to stop blushing already.

"Hey," Jenny called back over the wind. "We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Jenny Pizza, this is Buck Dewey, the DJ-Bot is Sour Cream, and those two are Lars and Sadie."

Everyone gave a chorus of hello's. Stevonnie just waved back and tried to keep a knowing grin from their face.

"What's your name?" Buck asked without looking at them.

"Um...Stevonnie."

Lars's eyebrows knit together. "Stephanie?"

"No, _Stevonnie_. S-T-E-V-O-N-N-I-E." _I guess_.

In the silence that followed, they worried that their cover had been blown. Not that any of these teens knew what fusion was (or anything about Gems in general), but they were still wearing their costumes, still had some of their old features, and since their name was basically just—

"Cool," Sour Cream said.

"Yeah," agreed Sadie. She tried and failed to keep eye contact with Stevonnie. "Never heard it before."

"Thank you," Stevonnie chirped in reply.

Sadie giggled for no real reason.

It really wasn't that long of a drive to the cliff on the back of the Temple. The lighthouse, as always, stood at the peak above the Temple's head. Standing in the sand, it was about as big as Stevonnie's pinky. The light wasn't spinning this evening.

The slope was a bit too steep to drive up, so the cars were parked at the base. They all unbuckled (Sadie undoing the single seatbelt that held her and Stevonnie together) and climbed their way up. Within a short time, a good deal of people was complaining about the pain in their legs. Honestly, Stevonnie could have just ran all the way up in no time, but didn't. They didn't want to show off.

They finally came up to the lighthouse, and, as dangerously usual, the door was unlocked. One of the unknown teenagers pulled the door open, and with it came a sweep of dust. A few people took out their phones to shine light ahead. One by one, they all stepped inside.

"Everyone upstairs!" Jenny called out.

Whispers and chatter was passed around with the chorus of footsteps. As they trotted upwards, Stevonnie once again felt a heavier feeling than before. Unease, probably, but that was expected, right? They were in a dark lighthouse to investigate the possible presence of supernatural activity that may or may not erase them into nothing, so of course they should feel discomforted.

Still…Something was lingering. It was like there was something that they couldn't see, only feel, right in front of them.

They finally made it up to the top floor of the lighthouse, and everyone began to disperse. Oddly enough, there were things in the lighthouse that looked pretty recent. Chalkboards and cardboard boxes, chairs and a garbage can full of chip bags and balls of paper. Papers and notes were pinned up on the walls and the boards.

Sadie hummed as she looked at it all. "What's all this doing here?"

"Ronaldo," Buck replied.

Jenny elaborated, "He likes to hang out here to theorize and whatnot. Kind of like a secret spot, but everyone knows about it."

"Who cares?" Lars barked up from the back. "Just spin the thingy already."

Sour Cream and Buck took off for the curved staircase leading up to the light. Everyone stood by and waited for them, Stevonnie included. As they did, they had to admit that the lighthouse really did look pretty creepy when it was dark like this. It gave it an eerie ambiance.

There were some creaks and grunts. Buck and Sour Cream pushed and pulled at the light as hard as they could, but it refused to budge an inch. Eventually, Sour Cream pushed too hard and ended up throwing himself forward. Buck managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

Buck called down, "Not moving."

"Maybe it can't move without lighting up?" someone in the crowd offered.

Another teen protested, "But the legend says that there can't be any lights."

Someone scoffed. "That person who disappeared should have specified."

And then that feeling from before grew. Stevonnie couldn't describe it, but for some reason, as if they were forced to feel it, all the voices in the air were suddenly obnoxious. Like hearing sound with a headache, Stevonnie just wanted them all to stop. But they couldn't fathom why, they couldn't understand…

Looking down at her feet, Sadie hummed. "Maybe the controls are downstairs?"

Stevonnie shot a hand into the air. "I can go see!"

It was just an offer, so they weren't expecting the praise that followed. Everyone was suddenly complimenting them for their bravery and nerve, and more than one "Thank you" was sung out in gratitude. More flushed cheeks also appeared. Maybe everyone had a cold and they were just really good at hiding it…

The feeling stayed. They wanted to get away from everyone, but that didn't stop anything.

A finger tapped on their shoulder. They turned around.

One of the teenagers, whom they did not recognize, smiled at them. He was a tall boy, about as tall as Stevonnie. He was wearing a lot of black: a tuxedo mask, a wide-brimmed hat, a cape, boots…But the plastic rapier at his side glinted in the pale moonlight. It was hard to see very much of him at all, other than his eyes and the dark coffee bangs swept across his forehead.

He kept smiling as he told them, "I should go with you. Make sure nothing happens."

Yeah…Going downstairs in a dark lighthouse that may-or-may-not-be housing a troubled spirit all by themselves probably wasn't a good idea. It was nice of him to offer…So why did it kind of irk them? They wanted to be alone, but they shouldn't.

Stevonnie nodded and smiled, too. "Sure! Thank you."

"No problem," the boy said with a tip of his hat.

They both headed for the stairs once more, Stevonnie pausing to call back, "We'll only be a minute!"

Another chorus of thanks and cheer came. It was probably just their imagination, but they could have sworn that they heard a quiet "I love you."

* * *

They trailed their palms down the walls as they moved down the shadowy stairs. There were a few red lights every few feet, but not nearly enough to help. The boy walked behind them. He was trying to keep up with them, but he kept stumbling, refusing to touch the dusty and/or grimy walls. Still, he kept his cool.

"Maybe I should introduce myself," he finally said. "I'm Kevin."

"Stevonnie," they replied.

"Stevonnie, huh? Well, tell me, Stevonnie, what's a beauty such as you doing here?"

…Well that came out of nowhere. What'd he say that for?

They finally came to the bottom of the stairs, and the only way from here was the basement. There was a hatch in the floor with a round handle, and they knelt down to it as they replied to "Kevin."

"Just having fun…? See if that legend is true or not."

They swung the hatch open at the same time that Kevin scoffed.

"Really? That legend is nothing; you're wasting your time."

With one foot on the first step, Stevonnie paused. Kevin, who had been just fine and polite a few minutes ago, was suddenly…not. They didn't get what he was playing at, calling them beautiful and then being dismissive to them.

While Kevin followed them down, Stevonnie replied tightly, "Well, I'm still having fun."

The basement was probably worse than the rest of the lighthouse. It was dark, of course, but there were more red lights here. It was far eerier, nothing but red and shadow. Stevonnie once again felt heavy.

"Don't be scared…" They whispered. "Don't be scared."

"You know what would be more fun?"

Kevin's voice cut into their ears like knives. The feeling that was already weighing down on them was suddenly stinging. _Annoyance._ Kevin was making them feel worse, and they kind of just wanted him to go…But maybe they were overreacting? They could ignore him.

But he was talking to them, and all they could muster was "Uh…"

Kevin was suddenly right beside him. Not leaning in, but just _too close._ He had taken off his mask so they could see the rest of his face. He was definitely a handsome boy, but something about the way his eyes

 _ **Go away.**_

stared at them—stinging. Annoyance. They wanted to be alone, just alone.

Kevin's finger moved between them. "You. Me. Out of here and enjoying each other's company in private."

Bee stings. Kevin was too close, Kevin was too much. They didn't like his eyes, they didn't like him. This was so

 _ **Go away. Calm down.**_

confusing. They shouldn't be this angry; he shouldn't be this close to them.

No, that wasn't it. There was something else here, too. Something not attached to them, something in this room. It was making their skin crawl, and they hated it. They wanted it to  
 _ **Stop.**_

stop. Their head felt so cotton-stuffed.

Kevin was watching them, waiting  
 _ **Stop looking at me.  
**_ for an answer. There was a fire in their belly, and he was only kindling it. The flames made their belly ache.

"I'm staying here," they told him.

Kevin tutted. Bee sting. "What, with those bozos upstairs? Look, baby,  
 _ **BABY?**_

you and I shouldn't be mingling with this trash. We're golden, we deserve better company. Like each other."

 _ **I said**_ "No."

Tut. Sting. "Any way I can convince you? I promise I'll take care of you."

"Why won't he just leave us alone?"

"Excuse me?"

 _ **Go away shut up calm down**_

Their hands clamped over their ears. They couldn't see Kevin anymore, but he was still there, still watching them. Waiting.

Everything was wrong, everything was red. They wanted to cry, they were going to cry, it was so confusing, it was too much. It wasn't just Kevin, it was something else, but if Kevin would just go away, maybe the shadows would stop moving.

"What's wrong? Why are we like this?"

Their eyes were stinging and the red light wasn't helping, it was dripping on the floor so loudly.

"I don't know! I don't understand!"

they didn't like it didn't like it didn't like it they were falling apart they were seeing it they were dripping on the floor with the red they were melting they were falling apart why was this happening this shouldn't be happening

"I…I want you to be here! As _you!_ But I don't know…don't know…"

they just wanted to talk they just wanted to go why can't I see you I want to see you I want to talk this doesn't feel good anymore why are there so many eyes staring at me

"Why does it hurt so much?!"

A scream.

It came from Kevin, and it tore them back into reality.

There wasn't any dripping red or dripping _them_ anymore, they were still in the basement. Kevin was still there, too, but he was pointing at the wall. He was pointing at the thing in the wall, the…

The giant set of lips and the teeth behind—What in the stars?

The great mouth in the wall of the basement snarled, a bright orange tongue lapping out to lick its lips. The lips had so many veins on them that they stretched out between the wooden boards. It was beating, too, like a heart. But this was real, this was here.

It was angry. They could feel it, and it was angry. It wanted to be alone, it wanted everything to go away, it wanted people to stop invading this place and just let it be!

The ceiling was splitting apart, wood splintering and nails bursting. Like a set of jaws, it opened up to reveal nothing but fiery red light, thick as a wall.

As they watched, things began to drip from the light, hands and feet and whole people. The teenagers from upstairs hit the floor one-by-one. Sadie fell on Lars, some fell on their rears. Buck landed on his feet and managed to catch Sour Cream, then set him down in time to catch Jenny.

Stevonnie finally found their voice. "What's going on?"

Jenny pushed herself to her hands. "We were just upstairs and the light started spinning and the papers were flying around and—" She turned and saw the mouth. "Aw, _NO!"_

The mouth growled loudly enough to shake the floor. Everything was shaking anyway, and everyone struggled to stay on their feet. The veins spread out like frost.

Stevonnie knew that all the fury was coming from this…thing. This had to be spirit that the legend told of, the one that so any people came here to see. How annoying, to be invaded like that…

The tongue whipped out. Everyone ducked and dodged as best as they could, and still some were slobbered. It was strong enough to bruise, and Stevonnie just barely managed not to be slung against the wall.

Everyone ran as far to the opposite side of the room as they could. Some had already tried the hatch, to no avail. They were trapped like birds, and the mouth was the cat. Another growl shook their feet.

Kevin's voice rose up as a squeak that would have been laughed at in other circumstances. "Somebody _do something!"_

Stevonnie thought, _Go away! Leave me alone!_

But there was something to it, some kind of lingering click that made them pause. "Go away."

Go away…Leave me alone.

Oh!

Stevonnie cleared their throat. "I have an ideAUGH!"

Something strong and wet wrapped around their ankle. With little effort, they were pulled off their feet and landed hard on the floor. There was no time to be winded, as they were pulled forward as easily as a ragdoll. Behind them, there were screams of their names, screams of "No!", screams of "Beautiful person!" An angry red line separated Stevonnie from the others.

There was no stopping the thing until it had done what it wanted: Get rid of all of these people always invading it, always intruding.

As they were pulled closer and closer to the square teeth as big as their hands, Stevonnie was filled with fear and confidence all at once. There was no use in escaping, but if they were right, everyone might be okay.

The tongue moved from their ankle to their waist and lifted them up. They were pulled just a bit into the cave of the mouth. The heat inside made their calves prickle with needles. Still, they were not pulled in immediately.

Probably because they screamed, "WAIT!"

The teeth, lips, and tongue all paused. It was almost in amusement, as if to see what their final pitiful words would be.

Stevonnie cleared their throat. "What if I told you…that I can take you somewhere that you can be alone? I-I know it must be really annoying, having everyone come in here to gawk at you all the time, so—"

They were pulled in.

There were shrieks and screams, followed by the sharp click of teeth on teeth. But the veins weren't beating anymore, and nothing "chewed". The air was tight and cramped.

 _BOOM!_

Everyone flinched and gasped as the wall and the mouth inside it burst into wood and dust. Bits of debris went flying everywhere. The red in the ceiling and the cracks died into nothing, and all that remained of the beast in the wall was a pile of useless drywall and wood panels.

But from the pile came a hand, clutching a red dial one would find on a pipe of sorts. Then another hand, holding a great blue Gem, the shape of those stones seen on wedding rings.

Stevonnie pushed themselves up and out of the pile. They were scraped up decently, but alive nonetheless. They had at last calmed down and let the dial drop to ruffle their hair free of dust.

"We were right," they murmured to themselves. "Which is good, because we could have died."

And then there were so many arms hugging them, petting them, rubbing their hair. Cheeks were pushed against their cheeks, lips kissed against their temples. There were cheers and whoops, and relieved sobs. Sadie threw her necklace of blue roses around their neck. They were tossed into the air once and let back down with a "Hip, Hip, Hooray!"

And they were right where they were supposed to be, happy and light and as right as ever. Even with the turmoil they had felt before, most of it came from that Gem's anguish, vibrating through the lighthouse and reaching into the Gem in their belly. It was such a relief to be past that dreadful episode, and they made a mental note to never let it happen a—

Kevin's voice picked up, "So how about it? You, me, the town?"

They split apart.

In a quick pop of pink light, Steven and Connie hit the floor at the teenagers' feet. All voices cut off into gasps as the children groaned at their rough landing. They were in their respective costumes once again, and were scraped in some places, others not.

They both sat up, rubbing their heads and grumbling. Everyone else struggled to process what had just happened.

Kevin included. With his tan skin now sunken blue, he staggered backwards. "Nah. Nah, nah, nah, I'm out of here. That's two kids."

He dashed up the stairs without another word. No one paid him any mind.

It took a minute to comprehend what had happened, but Connie's eyes eventually fell on the large blue Gem lying between her and Steven. She scrambled to grab it and thrust it into Steven's chest, eliciting a surprised grunt from the boy. He fumbled and caught the Gem in a pink Bubble. He all but slapped his hand down on it and sent it away.

He and Connie locked eyes.

Connie smiled, and laughed. Steven didn't know why, but she did, and then he was doing the same thing. The baffled teenagers went forgotten around them.

Connie gasped out, "We're a mess!"

Steven replied through quick breaths, "I know! I love it!"


	28. The Test

Steven turned the object in his hands over. It was just bigger than his palm, a black rectangle of plastic. There was a small set of buttons on the side, one red and one black. There was a small hole in one of the sides as well. He lifted up the small square of clear plastic to look inside. There were only two small rings, like cogs, but he couldn't think for what. The other half of the thing was dotted like a speaker.

Steven looked up at Greg. His father had his hands on his hips, a smile on his mouth, and one eyebrow up. He was waiting for Steven's reaction of awe and wonder.

Steven smiled. "I love it!"

"You don't know what it is, do you?"

"No!"

Greg clicked his tongue and took the device from Steven, kneeling down so Steven could see. Steven pulled his light jacket around him. Winter was steadily approaching and had already set a chill in the air. Greg usually didn't like to ask Steven to come over in the cold, but he had asked him to come today to give him this. So, of course, Steven had dashed over as quickly as he could.

"It's a cassette player," he explained. "See, this is where you'd put the cassette tape, and the film inside would play music. I used this when I was making new songs, like an audio diary."

"Ooh~!" Steven wiggled his eyebrows. "Might there be some saucy secrets here?"

"No." Greg chuckled. "Those tapes are in this box."

Greg reached into the back of the van and pulled out a small cardboard box. The lid was taped down and permanent black ink spelled _SECRET_ on the side.

Greg tossed the box into the nearby burning barrel, struck a match, and set it ablaze.

Steven hummed.

Greg reached into the van again and pulled out another, almost identical cardboard box. This one he gave to Steven, who placed the cassette player on top. Inside, plenty of cassettes slid and bumped together. There were at least twenty, perhaps thirty.

"These are some of my old songs from back in my stardom days." Greg sighed and tossed a length of hair behind his shoulder. "Not sure if they will or won't work, but they should."

Curious, Steven reached into the box and pulled out a random cassette. There was a single strip of paper on the front, scribbled with blue ink.

 _COMET_

Steven popped the cassette into the player and hit the button with the arrow in it. The cogs inside spun in circles, dragging the film through, and there was a short crackling in the speaker. He and Greg waited.

" _Some  
say I'm a stellar rejection  
that I'm a cosmic distraction.  
Well, that's a knee-jerk reaction…"_

Steven hit the pause button and grinned up at Greg. "It works!"

"Great! You can listen to all the ones you want—see how your old man used to roll."

Steven replied with the utmost sincerity, "You are not old and you roll just as good as you used too."

Greg clasped a hand over his heart. His eyes were watery. _"Thank you."_

Greg gave a short laugh as he looked down at the box. He gave a nostalgic sigh. "You know…Your mom would listen to every single one of those, no matter how bad or uncompleted. She said she loved all of them."

Steven always got a weird feeling whenever he was in the presence of something his mother was involved with. He felt it at the fountain, the garden, and the Room that was now his. It wasn't sadness or familiarity; it was kind of like…humbleness. Like if you found a chair that says "(Insert celebrity here) once sat in this EXACT SPOT!" and you sit down. You almost felt undeserving to experience it—it was what Steven felt when he looked down at the box.

"Wow. Mom really loved you."

He looked up at his father, smiling, but Greg's lips were pursed and his eyes were blankly staring away. "Yup."

"I didn't mean it like that! All your music's good, I was just…I was just saying that I know Mom loved you and—Okay. Well." He cleared his throat. "I'm going to binge through these until my ears are raw! Thanks, Dad!"

"You're welcome." But then Greg grabbed Steven by the shoulders and made him look at him. "But _don't raw your ears._ "

"Ok…" Steven sheepishly tucked the box underneath his arm. "I'm going to go ahead and go so you can do your checkups."

"Nothing else to do." Greg huffed and zipped up the front of his jacket up to his beard. He stuffed his paling hands into his front pockets and shivered. "Business is slow, might as well see how everything is going to hold up until spring."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Not unless you want to inspect the high-pressure rinse arch."

"I don't know what that is."

"Then no. You go on, sport. Your young man's got the fort."

"Rhyme~!"

* * *

Steven stopped not too far from the Temple to slip a new cassette into the player. He kept it loud as he continued kicking up sand with his sneakers. Although the sound had a light crisp to it, it was clear all the same.

" _And I say one, two, three, four  
I'm not done yet, I still got some more.  
Still got my story to share,  
and as the solar wind blows through my hair…_

 _I…_

 _I'm ripping myself off…  
I already used these lyrics.  
Something-something-turning-off."_

Steven chuckled and clicked the pause button. He was already at the stairs, anyway. The cassettes clicked around in the box with each bounce up the steps.

When he opened the door to his Room, the Gems were in the kitchen, behind the island. Ruby and Sapphire stood on the same step stool up to the sink. Ruby was dunking greased and grimy dishes into soapy water and rubbing them clean with a rag. Sapphire took them from her and rinsed them off in the other basin. Opal took the wet dishes and dried them with a towel with two hands, then used the other two to place them into the cupboards. They were all murmuring to one another.

"I'm back," Steven called out.

He was met with a "Hello", "Hey", and a "Ma boy!" Opal lifted a stack of saucers into the cupboard, where they clinked together. She tucked them into the back and waited for more.

Ruby glanced back at the box in his hands. "What 'cha got there, Stephano?"

"Cassettes." Steven waved the player around like it was a blue ribbon. "They're like ancient CDs from the olden days. Dad has a lot of his songs on here."

Opal smiled over her shoulder. "Play us a song!"

Steven pulled a random cassette from the box and swapped it out without looking at the title. The speaker crackled. Opal lifted up another stack of dishes and waited.

" _I know I'm not so tall  
I know I'm not so smart  
But if you let my drive my van into your heart—"_

"How about you put in some earphones?" asked Opal. She wasn't smiling anymore.

"Oh. Okay."

As he turned away, he heard Ruby's voice behind him. "Why do you hate that song so much?"

Opal clicked her tongue in response. "Por qué no?"

Steven bounced up the stairs to his loft and tossed the box onto the bed. It took him a minute, but he finally found his earphones in one of his drawers. He pushed them into the audio jack and flopped down onto the bed.

He let the music envelope his ears, let his eyes flutter shut and his body sink into the mattress. The murmur of the Gems was drowned out to nothing. He actually wasn't paying much attention to the lyrics, just the rhythm that beat through his head. He knew every lyric of this song, music or not. This was a song that Greg sang often, whenever Steven asked him to.

After a minute of senseless listening, there were only a few lingering chords, followed by the sharp cut of silence. Steven hit the rewind button of the player, and although he didn't intend to listen to it again, he sat still while the film whirred around inside. He almost got lulled into a nap.

But as it did, his ears found the Gems' voices again. Even quiet and distant down below, he could hear their words clearly now. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but his curiosity got the best of him.

"I mean, we could go down there easy, but you know Steven can't make it…"

Steven tugged the earphones out. There was a splash, the squeak of cloth rubbing on slick ceramic. It was Opal who spoke first, and Ruby who replied.

"So we just tell him we're going on another mission, right?"

He could hear water dripping down into the drain. He turned on his bed, careful, enough to see them without making a sound. Their backs were still turned to him. He could just barely see Ruby and Sapphire's heads above the island.

"We should be more quiet," Opal whispered. She ran a towel over the lip of a cup and lifted it up to the cupboard.

"He has the earphones in," Ruby replied. She dipped a bowl into the soapy water and sloshed it around inside. She didn't realize that she splashed Sapphire, who looked down at her skirt with disdain. "He can't hear us."

"Still…"

Steven pushed himself up to his feet and slipped his sneakers off. He let the player on the bed and padded down the steps in his socks. They still neglected to notice him.

Holding the bowl beneath the stream from the faucet, Sapphire chimed in, "We could go when he's not here. But we're going to need a boat."

"I remember the code just fine," said Ruby. "I can go take care of it myself and you guys can stay here."

Opal replied, "I don't know if the Warp Pad is still suspended. Even if you get the Tower up again, how would you get back down?"

"Are you guys talking about the Aerial Tower?"

Ruby span around so quickly that the saucer in her hand went flying and shattered against the floor. Sapphire turned around, calm yet surprised, while Opal stilled with one hand in the cupboard.

Steven just stared. Then glanced at the shattered saucer, and then stared. It was quiet for a long time.

Opal's hand slowly dropped down to the counter. "Yes…"

"You guys can get it up again?"

"Maybe." Sapphire held out a rinsed dish to Opal. Opal didn't notice. "Maybe not."

Whatever good, or at least fair, mood that Steven had been in deflated. He didn't mean to be such a killjoy, but thinking back to that long-ago mission to the Aerial Tower did not feel good in his mind. Not that he was perfect yet, but that mistake he made—a _bird_ ruining everything—was so beyond what he would do now. It was like thinking back to things he would do and say as a child…except that wasn't even a year ago.

"Sorry."

Opal smiled—Sapphire was poking her belly with the dish, so she took it with one hand—and told him, "Don't worry about it, Steven. We all make mistakes, and that was a long time ago."

"Mistakes are when you bump into someone in the door." Steven prodded a tiny shard of ceramic with his toe. "Mistakes don't make towers fall into the ocean."

"It's okay, Steven," said Sapphire. "It was an accident and you don't—Stop touching the glass."

"Sorry."

"—and you don't need to worry about it."

Ruby had bent under the counter to pull out the dustpan. She walked to the mess of ceramic pieces on the floorboards and scooped them up with one hand, little pieces clicking against her Gem.

As she did, she told Steven, "And the Aerial Tower wasn't that important, anyway. Just old Gem ruins, if anything. That's why we used that place for the test and not someplace uber-important." She stood up with a hand on her hip. "M'kay?"

But Steven only frowned. "'Test'?"

Now it was Ruby's turn to frown. Her eyes turned to Opal and Sapphire, who were both looking at one another. One of Opal's free hands started to tap against her thigh.

"I thought we told him?"

Opal shrugged almost defensively. "I didn't tell him." She turned to Sapphire. "Did you tell him?"

Sapphire plucked the plug out from the sink. As the soap and water gurgled down, she replied with a short, "Mm-mm."

Steven repeated, impatiently, _"'Test'?"_

The hand not holding the dustpan came to Ruby's neck and rubbed sheepishly. "Well…"

Sapphire cut in. "The mission to the Aerial Tower was supposed to be a test to see if you could handle difficult missions."

Steven blinked at her. Then Ruby, then Opal. They were being serious. They weren't joking at all. Opal and Ruby were just looking at Sapphire like they were hoping she'd sugarcoat it just a bit.

"But…" Steven fumbled for his words. "But I didn't know it was supposed to be a test!"

"You weren't really supposed to." Unlike Sapphire's bluntness, Opal's words were cooed and comforting. "We just wanted to see how you'd do without knowing. Then there wouldn't be a point, right?"

"I _failed._ That was supposed to be like…mission practice, and I _failed!_ " Steven's hands flew into his hair with the realization. "I didn't pass Gem Mission _Preschool!_ "

"Hey, hey, hey." Ruby set the dustpan on the island so she could put a hand on his shoulder. Firm but comforting, she told him, "That was waaaay long ago. You've proven yourself, like, ten times over since then. No biggie."

"It's a biggie for me!" Steven's hands clenched into fists, shaking up and down. He was standing straight on his toes. "I need to prove to you guys that I'm ready for real Crystal Gem business! I don't want to be a liability. Pleeeease can't I take the test again? I know I can pass it this time!"

Although not truly disagreeing with him, Opal said, "We don't want you to feel pressured, Steven. You really don't have to do this."

Steven cried back, _"I do if I want to sleep at night!"_

"Whoa!"

"You can take the test again!"

"Take it easy!"

"Dial it down."

* * *

Steven stretched his arms out, twisted his torso, and jogged in place. He had a sweatband around his forehead and his sneakers on his feet. On either side of him, plastic traffic cones lines the path to the Temple Door, up and over the Warp Pad. Where there was usually the five-pointed star with the gemstones was nothing but deep darkness. The Crystal Gems stood behind him. Sapphire was massaging his shoulders.

"Here's the jiffy," Ruby told him. She jabbed a thumb to the Door. "What lies ahead is a course of challenges, obstacles, and challenging obstacles to test your abilities to the fullest. Each part has been designed by one of us."

Opal patted on his mop of curls. "Which means you're going to have to use wit."

Sapphire chimed in, "And speed."

Ruby flexed her biceps and ended, "And brawn!"

Steven held his arms out, parallel, and started squatting up and down. "I'm ready."

"We'll be waiting for you at the end," Opal told him. "But this _is_ dangerous, so _be careful._ "

"Careful. Witty. Speedy. Brawny. Got it."

Ruby slapped him on the back. "See you on the other side, kid. Give us five minutes."

And with that, the three Crystal Gems darted into the Door and disappeared into the darkness. They didn't even leave the sound of their footsteps behind them.

In the waiting silence, Steven continued to flex, stretch, and squat, maybe more than he should have. He was as loose as rubber by the time the five minutes ended, but something else came to mind.

"Oh!"

He quickly dashed up the steps to his room and dug into the nightstand drawer. He pulled out the Velcro strip with the rubber case and pulled it on and up his arm. He didn't use it often, but now he had perfect reason to.

He opened the box of cassettes, trying to find the perfect motivation song, the perfect determination-motif. He flashed through the titles one-by-one.

 _COMET  
WCID4U  
CHANGE  
MRUTHEMESNG  
MRUTHEMESNG2  
MRUENDGTHEME  
TITLE_

Eh, not many stuck out as particularly empowering to him…But one made him pause. It was clearly the newest of the cassettes. It was cleaner and slicker and didn't have nearly as many scratches. He flipped it over in his hand.

 _FOR STEVEN_

Huh. Maybe his dad had left a secret message for him?

"Sweet!"

He popped the cassette into the player, slid the player into the Velcro slip, and slid a pair of earphones into the jack.

Without stopping, he dashed down the stairs, over the Warp Pad, and through the Temple Door.

He slowed down, fearful of stumbling, to a sort of speed-walk. Despite the almost opaque blackness of his surroundings, there was a rectangle of bright light ahead. He moved toward it warily, never looking back. The closer he came, the more he could see, until he was shown the course before him.

It was almost like a long hallway. It had four walls and a ceiling, but on either side of the walkway that ran out before him, there were pits that seemed to sink down forever and ever. It was not particularly bright in the room, the light set by the lavender glow of white iron flambeaux suspended in the air. The far wall held the arched exit into the next room. The outline was embellished with bright, opalescent stones.

He stepped closer to the walkway. It was made of cubic blocks, three wide and perhaps twenty or so long. Steven knew that something so conspicuous wouldn't be harmless, so he took another cautious step forward. He swallowed.

One of the first blocks lit up a bright, iridescent blue. When it dimmed down, the row behind it also lit up a block. That one dimmed, the next lit up, and so on, so forth, until a pattern had been set. Steven caught on quickly and memorized them as best as he could. He knew the pattern wouldn't repeat again, so when the last one blinked out, he took a deep breath and ran through his mind again.

"Got it. In the mind safe."

He reached to his arm and turned the player on. The sound crackled in his ears, and the first few twangs of a guitar came out. It was a bittersweet beginning, not too fast, but passionate nonetheless.

" _Sometimes  
our lives  
don't always go as pla-a-a-a-aned."_

Oh, yes. This was going to be good.

He stepped onto the first block. It didn't light up nor crumble away, so he moved to the next. He tried to repeat the pattern like a song, left, right, left, left…which maybe wasn't working because of the song already in his ears, but he wasn't going to turn it off just yet. He wanted to see what Greg had left for him.

He took the next step. The next, then the next. Almost halfway through, his thoughts jumbled together. Now, was he supposed to go left or right? Or both? What?

He knew he was in a real _deal_ (ba-dum-tish) pickle, but he had to move. He didn't want to risk moving backwards and having the walkway collapse in on him. So he stepped forward.

" _The way that  
time flies  
doesn't always seem so gra-a-a-a-and."_

The block beneath his foot glowed blinding, neon red.

Steven didn't pause a second to think. He threw himself onto the next block ahead of him, which thankfully did not glow warningly. Even so, not only did the block behind him burst into empty space, but the rest of the row did as well, bisecting the walkway.

He pushed himself up to his feet with a grunt. He didn't know the rest of the walkway pattern…but again, if he jumped backwards, he had failed the test entirely. _No way._

" _There are choices that I still regret,  
some long-ago dreams I'd rather forget."_

Steven dashed forward with every bit of speed that he had. He ignored the red light beneath his eyes and the loud bursts behind him, even as his footing began to stumble. His heart was pounding and his breath was as hard as a jackhammer. The music continued blasting in his ears. This had to be why Greg gave it to him.

When the final landing came, he nearly belly-flopped himself forward. But he caught himself instead with a final, great gush of air. All that remained of the walkway was the short beginning—there was no way for him to turn back now without falling deep, deep into nothing. Not that he was going to, of course.

 _Opal really doesn't kid around,_ he thought to himself as he moved into the exit. He could already see the next room ahead, and from the bright rosy glow, he had some idea of who constructed it.

" _But whenever I'm find myself down in the dirt,  
I remind myself:"_

The next room was round, with curved walls lined in neon red. The floor and walls were made of rugged square stones, but the ceiling looked to be rose-colored glass. Instead of an exit, the only thing at the other end of the room was a great pillar ten times Steven's height. The top held a great brass bell.

The pillar and the heavy mallet standing upright before it gave Steven a clear understanding of what it was. He was instantly reminded of the day he'd taken Opal to Funland.

" _Shooting stars never get hurt."_

He lifted the mallet into his hand. He lifted it up and over his head, almost tipping backwards, and swung it down hard.

It struck the pad at the pillar's bottom. Red plasma shot about a sixth up the pillar's height, then crept back down to nothing. There fortunately wasn't a taunting voice to call him "Mama's Boy" or "Baby Bobby".

No, he got a much better motivation when the ceiling disappeared and replaced itself with rows and rows of sharp, spiky teeth.

" _Sometimes  
There are enormous shoes to fill."_

Steven blanched when the spikes began to descend. They swallowed up the walls inch by inch, with only a square of open space for the pillar. Ruby wasn't kidding when she said she wanted some brawn out of him!

At least they were being honest, though.

He lifted the mallet up and swung it down once more. This time, the plasma moved further, perhaps a fourth up the way. But then it fell down again. The spikes kept moving.

He swung again, again, his muscles straining and sweat shining on his brow. It finally went halfway, but then only two-thirds. The bell was already gone behind the spikes—he could only pray he got it right this time.

" _But I keep wearing them still!  
Cause I know, when the time comes,"_

This time, he lifted the mallet over his shoulder instead of his head. With his abdomen clenched and his fingers clamped tight on the handle, he swung it down with every bit of strength in his body. He couldn't stop the war cry that came from his mouth.

This time, although he still could not see it, the bell tolled with a fierce _GONG!_ The spikes halted still, then slowly eased their way back up to the ceiling. The pillar was completely aglow, and the once-dull bell was shining a brilliant gold. It kept swinging to sing Steven a victorious cheer.

Finally, the pillar split in half. The triangular exit was framed in neon red.

Steven threw down the mallet to give himself a high-five, then moved forward.

" _I'm going to blow them all away.  
Blow them all a-way!"_

The opening led into the third, and possibly final, room. As Steven had honestly expected, this room was lit blue. It came shining down in heavenly beams from a ceiling too bright to look at. It was almost as if he was standing right beneath the heavens. The room was lined in a ring of crystalline water that Steven had to wade through to get to the island in the middle.

The second his foot touched the marble, a blue square appeared on the floor. Nothing immediately happened, so with no other ideas, he walked over and prodded it with his foot. Then he stood on it.

" _So I will keep going!  
And going!"_

Needles as thin as hair and taller than his head shot up from every direction. He stood in a small forest of crystal wires, and even looking at them, he knew that his skin would be shredded to ribbons. It made him shiver, even after they shrunk back down until they had disappeared entirely. Sapphire wasn't pulling any punches.

The blue square at his feet vanished at the same time that a blue rectangle appeared some seven feet away. He darted over to it and stood sideways, one foot on either side, forming to its shape. Just as he thought, the needles sprouted all around him, but never from beneath his feet.

" _No more guesses, no more knowing!  
Cause I know someday,"_

The needles and shapes came and went faster and faster. One time, it was an L, another, a sort of K shape. They eventually became the outline of his own body, so he had to lie down and twist his limbs as quickly as he could. Five seconds became four, then three. Even with his heart pounding and his body worked to ache, he never complained, never stopped, even when a strand of hair was snagged or pulled.

" _I will blow them all away!  
Blow them all a-way!"_

But when the needles fell away and the shape beneath him disappeared, the exit did not appear, nor did another shape. For once, he grew panicked. What was he supposed to do now? Was another round coming?

" _I'm going to find…"_

He saw, with a skip of his heartbeat, that the new shape was actually half-beneath him. All he had to do was turn over real quick, move his arm—

He didn't make it.

" _A way!"_

But even as the needles surrounded him, even between his arm and his side, he never felt a thing.

He blinked dumbly, laying still as the needles retreated downwards. He was still panting, a cold sweat broken out over his skin. It took him a moment to finally pull himself up to his feet. The music had died down to an empty crackle, so without thinking, he hit the rewind button.

He saw another shape appear, the first square. But he didn't move towards it. And just as before, he never felt so much as a breath of air, even when he should have been flayed alive.

Raising a hand and stretching it outwards, the needles slithered down to avoid his flesh. Steven was reminded of a pin-impression toy. He took a step forward, then another, then another. Eventually he was facing the door to Ruby's course without a hair out of place. The needles disappeared, and the room was quiet.

"She did not…" His voice was as whiny as a baby, even to his own ears. "They did _not!"_

Without really thinking, he dashed back into the hallway and into Ruby's course. The pillar sealed back together behind him, but before it was even finished, he'd picked up the mallet again. His palms were clammy.

He tapped the mallet down, light as a feather, on the pad. Even with the strength of an ant, it moved up a sixth of the way, just as it had before. The ceiling split into the spikes once more, but Steven didn't so much glance at them.

Just as lightly as before, he tapped the pad—a fourth. He poked it with his pinky—halfway. He sucked up a breath of air and blew it out in a gust—halfway.

The spikes kept coming, and he let them. Even as they inched closer, even as the tips of their teeth breathed against his hair.

Because they just moved right back up, back into the ceiling, with no consequence.

"Are you _kidding_ me? Her, too?!"

He span on his heel for the exit into Opal's room. The tape was playing the first notes of the song again, but this time, he just ripped the earphones out of his ears. He was hoping, _praying,_ that what he thought wasn't true.

Going back into Opal's course, the walkway had repaired itself. But before the first block on the other side had the chance to light up, he just walked right onto it. The row beneath his feet beamed red.

It burst away, and he began to fall. His heart lurched in his chest, a scream rose up in his throat.

He dropped all of two inches.

Below his feet was nothing but air, yet he kept standing.

" _DANG IT!"_

He stomped out of Opal's room and back into the silence of his room. According to the clock on the wall, he hadn't even spent fifteen minutes through the courses. He wanted to hit something, needed to do something…!

He grabbed the vase off of the shelf on the wall, lifted it up…and put it back down.

Violence wasn't going to solve anything, _but dang it if it wasn't tempting!_

He shoved the earphones back into his ears, let the music tear at his eardrums. What used to be the perfect determination motif was now just white noise.

"I can't trust them for anything!"

They've gone through this so many times, it seemed. They told him he was a real Crystal Gem and that they would treat him like it, but then they would pull something like this. They didn't see him as anything other than a problem, didn't they? Yet they still expected him to respect them, to trust them. Because they were _real_ Crystal—he was so beyond this!

The song was beyond the halfway point.

They were lying through their teeth every time they said they trusted him. They wouldn't trust him not to break an egg, let alone do the very job he was supposed to do. He wondered how long he had looked up to them as the faultless caretakers he had known all of his life.

The Gems were still waiting for him, he knew. They were at the end of the courses, expecting him to come out of the last exit, sweating puddles and breathing labored. They were waiting to congratulate him for a job well done, tell him how impressed they were. Because they thought he was going to have trouble with the courses, they were _so_ difficult.

" _Forget_ that."

Let them wait. Let them sit there for hours and hours, until they finally search the courses for him, all the way back to his room. Let them see him on his bed, reading a book, and let them hear his calm explanation of how all the courses were "child safety locked", so he just came back to relax. Let their heads duck and their eyes turn away. Let them try to explain it. Let them refuse to look at him as he tore into them, tore into every lie and promise they gave him. Let them feel guilty. He would wait.

" _I'm going to find…a way!"_

Greg's guitar twangs faded into static. Steven let it crackle in his ears, too tired to rewind it and too furious to sit in ear-ringing silence. What would Greg say, he wondered? Greg would try to calm him down, he knew, but he would never be able to understand how he felt.

Connie wouldn't, either. Oh, Connie was fantastic at sympathizing, but not empathizing. She could only try to understand his feelings, not _experience_ them.

That left Lion. Lion didn't talk. Dang it.

As the tape crackled—Greg must not have shut it off when he was recording, because Steven could hear the occasional pop or blip—Steven's shining eyes lifted up. Up to the door that he was considering going through, then above that.

The Rose Quartz in the painting above the door was just as Steven always saw her: beautiful, serene, perfect. She had her eyes closed as if in slumber, her plump hands folded in her lap. The skirts of her snowy white dress looked more like clouds. Her hair was not much different, pristine pink ringlets spilling over her shoulders and down her back. Her skin was peachy, not just in color—it always looked soft to the touch, in paint or photograph or even the stone of the Fountains.

When he got the cassettes earlier that evening, he felt humbled because he was holding something that was once held by his mother. It was the same feeling when he looked at the Gem in his belly. It was odd knowing that this perfect, almighty, wonderful person, who loved everyone and was loved by everyone in return, was where he came from.

Maybe she would know what to do.

Steven liked to think so.

He turned for the stairs up to his loft. He reached up to pull out the earphones.

" _Hey, Steven."_

The voice went directly through his head. It was soft and light and always seemed to be laughing. Even angry, it would be lovely.

Steven wasn't bothered because he didn't know the voice. No, he was bothered because he _did._ He'd heard it for just a few short words when he was escaping her Room. He swore he heard it when he was dreaming.

" _Okay, Greg is gone now, but he left this running. He said he wanted you to have a 'determination motif', so he made this. He's brilliant."_

His eyes went back to her painting. He always saw her image with just a light, peaceful perk of the lips, but he wondered what she looked like when she was really smiling.

" _Everything about the Earth is brilliant. It's always changing, always unique…No two things are alike here, and I'm finding something new every day. You're going to love it here, Steven."_

She was probably smiling.

" _I wish I could be here to show you."_

He liked to think so.

" _Steven, I know what's going to happen. I know we can't be together. You're going to take my Gem…and I'll become part of you."_

He was already walking back to the Temple Door.

" _I know it's going to be confusing. I don't really understand it myself."_

He walked across the gap to the other side of Opal's course. His flip-flops tapped against thin air.

" _But you have to remember that I'm still going to be here."_

He gave the pillar's pad five quick taps. The next door opened up just mere seconds after he walked through the door.

" _Every time you love people, or you love yourself…that's going to be me!"_

He treaded straight through the forest of needles to the exiting door. Like the ones before it, it led into a short black hallway with just a square of light at the end. He couldn't make anything out. Maybe the Gems couldn't see him.

" _You're going to be a human, Steven. And that's the most brilliant thing you can be."_

He took a step forward. Another, then another. As he walked, he could make out the blurry forms of the Crystal Gems on the other side of the hallway. Red, purple, blue. Shrouded in dim light, they seemed to be shuffling about without direction.

But Ruby's voice carried out to him, although barely, beyond his earphones. She huffed, "He should be here already!"

" _Yo, Rose! What are you doing?"_

That was Ruby's voice in his ears, but it didn't belong to the Ruby at the end of the hallway. It was soft and distant, but the familiar hard taps of her feet on sand were distinct. Steven only then realized that the constant churning sound in the background of the cassette had to be the ocean.

Rose's voice replied _, "I'm just playing around with Greg's sound recording device. Don't tell him!"_

"I mean, even I safety-proofed my room. All he had to do was swing the hammer a few times—he's not stupid!"

" _I won't if you let me do it, too."_

" _Go ahead!"_

There was a muffled shamble of movement. Ruby's voice came out loud and clear.

" _I am Ruby! Hear me roar!"_

What came out next was a horribly mangled scratch of audio. Steven couldn't help but flinch.

Up ahead, Ruby was starting to pace. Her small form was walking back and forth across Opal's and Sapphire's. They were still—maybe they were watching her?

"If he finds out that we safety-locked it…" Ruby groaned. "He's going to be so mad at us. I'd be mad at us…I _am_ mad at us!"

" _This is the thing Greg uses to sing, right?"_

" _He records his work on it, yes."_

" _You know who would like this?"_

" _Who?"_

" _Sapphire."_

" _Oh, yes, yes, get her over here!"_

Ruby's voice on the cassette dimmed down. _"Yo, Sapphire!"_

Ahead, the Sapphire of the present replied, "I'd rather him be alive and hate us than dead and like us."

Ruby scoffed. "As if I was saying that!"

"I know. I know you weren't…I just don't know what to say."

Sapphire's cassette-voice finally spoke in Steven's ears. _"Yo."_

Ruby had stopped in front of Sapphire. But she wasn't shaking or jumping as she usually did as she was angry. Sapphire, as far as he could tell, was not clutching her hands together as usual.

Sapphire sighed wearily. "I don't know what to say to him sometimes. I'll admit it."

In Steven's ears, Ruby said, _"Use those vocal chords, you two. Give it a melody."_

There was another bit of static crinkling. Someone cleared their throat. Then there were two voices together, creating a smooth, light melody.

" _He was a famous drummer man from out Empire way.  
He had a jazzy style that no one else could play.  
He's in the navy now, a-blowin' reveille.  
He's the hippin' hoppin' drummer boy of Company C~!"_

Ahead of Steven, Ruby was walking away from Sapphire, slowly. Even as blurry as she was, Steven could tell her footsteps were heavy. Sapphire was still.

Opal finally spoke up. "We're terrible for him."

Ruby's voice cracked with how loud it grew. "What?!"

At the same time, on the cassette, Ruby's voice asked, _"Okay, where's the O-squad at?"_

" _Around, I'm sure."_ What followed next was a great shuffle of movement, so torn apart by the audio tape that Steven could only catch snippets of what Rose said next. _"Probably still in the Temple…know how…be alone sometimes…"_

Sapphire sighed once again. "Opal…"

" _There she is."_

Ruby called out, _"YO! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HAR!"_

There was a bout of more silence. Ruby had stopped moving, and she and Sapphire had probably both turned to Opal. Steven could see her arms, swinging around in her wild gestures. It was a wonder that they hadn't seen him yet.

"We are," Opal exclaimed. Her voice was uneasy and breaking, a sound that Steven hated to hear from her. "I'm a forgetful mess, Sapphire can't predict everything he's going to do, _you_ can't always handle him, and…and…I don't know. We weren't supposed to do this."

Ruby snapped, "Yeah, no kidding! Forgive me for losing Rose's _How to Raise My Child_ guide."

"Ruby." Sapphire's voice held a short but sharp bite to it. "Don't."

"Sorry. I'm sorry…"

Finally, he heard Opal's voice, _"The butt is har."_

Rose said, _"Say something into the recorder."_

" _What do I say?"_

" _Anything."_

"' _Anything.'"_

The shuffle of movement was quick and angry, and beneath it, Steven could hear Ruby's exasperated voice. _"Little sarcastic pebble, swear on my life…"_

"We're not good with humans," sighed Opal. Steven thought he could see her hugging herself, as he sometimes caught her doing. "But he's not a Gem, either. He's running low on confidence lately, after losing his healing powers and such, but I don't know if even this is going to fix it. We're trying our best, but no matter what we do…We're going to hurt him someday."

They didn't say anything else.

But on the cassette, Sapphire said, _"Greg is coming back."_

" _Alright, let's leave the lovebirds be."_ Ruby's voice drew close for one final time. _"Crystal Gems signing out."_

This length of silence was the longest and somehow the loudest.

" _Take care of them, Steven."_

Then the cassette finally cut off.

When Steven stepped forward again, any vision he had of the Crystal Gems was blacked out at once. Swallowing, he broke into a sprint, stuffing the earphones and cassette into his pocket. His flip-flops echoed with each step.

But then, all at once, everything was flooded with color. Stars rained down from all directions, bursting into dust when they hit the floor. Balloons without strings swelled up and soared before slowly deflating to nothing. The word 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared in thin air. The letters were made of iridescent light.

Opal was clapping all four of her hands together. The grin on her face was likely to split it. Sapphire's clapping was politer, as was her smile. This was in stark contrast to Ruby, who went from clapping to swinging a fist and whooping, then back to clapping.

"You did it!" "Great job!" "We knew you could!"

Their starry eyes turned to him…and stopped.

Steven stumbled up to them. He was swaying left and right, with drops of sweat mixing with the stardust. His heartbeat was probably as loud and hard as the breaths gushing through his lips.

The Crystal Gems stiffened like rocks (excuse the simile). Surely Steven had just pushed himself harder than he needed to. He couldn't have hurt himself; there wasn't a scratch on him.

"I…cannot believe…you would do that to me!"

They looked to one another.

"I mean…I wasn't expecting you guys to go all out!" When he straightened himself back up, Steven's mouth was split into a bright smile. Still panting, he explained, "I mean…I missed one of those blocks in Opal's room, and I almost didn't make it to the other side, but I just kept going and I made it across in time! And then…then I got to that hammer-thingy and-and I had to swing a lot, but I got it before I got squished! And whoo _boy_ did Sapphire's Twister-death-trap thingy throw me for a loop. I almost got turned into Steven strips!"

The Crystal Gems' hesitance melted away quickly. Their smiles crept onto their faces once more, eyes lighting up with both joy and relief. Steven caught it and kept going.

"I just…Thanks! I…I wasn't sure if you guys were going to take me seriously, but you did. Thank you."

Their smiles turned warm. Ruby clapped him on the back, and Sapphire set a gloved hand on his shoulder. Opal patted his curls again, but it looked like she wanted to hug him more.

"You got it, Steve," Ruby told him. She gave his shoulder a light punch.

"We knew you could handle it." Sapphire did the same as Ruby, but it hardly ghosted over Steven's skin.

Opal tapped a finger on his nose. "Crystal Gem Numero Uno."

They all took a step back, ready for Steven to declare that he was ready to go back into his room to relax, maybe have dinner and tell him of what all he'd been through.

Instead, Steven's hand reached out and clasped Ruby's elbow. The red Gem yelped as she was tugged to him, the same arm wrapping around her middle to squeeze her to him. The other hand did the same to Sapphire—even she couldn't help but gasp, hands freezing near her face. Before either of them could move, Steven pushed all three of them forward until they collided against Opal's legs. The tallest Gem hesitated at first, but her long arms eventually enveloped them all. Her ponytail slipped down and almost blanketed them all.

"You guys are the best," Steven told them.

He knew that they didn't know he heard them. That's what made it better, when all of their arms drew tighter around him.


	29. The Lost

Steven listened in awe to the wail that bounced through the walls of the chamber. It swung up in high crests before sliding down into smooth troughs. It sounded sorrowful and bitter, yet at the same time, as ethereal as a dream. The walls gave it an echo, so it sounded like one voice crying out to its own sound. Steven couldn't even look straight at its source—he felt weighed down by it.

But then it stopped and left nothing but a faint ring in the air. Steven let out the gust of breath he didn't know he was holding, and finally raised his eye.

"Wow. You actually _can_ sing Pechal'ny Paren's 'Six-Hour Symphony of a Sorrowed Soul'from memory."

Opal grinned with pride. Twirling one of her pigtails around her finger, she replied, "Of course I can. If I've heard it, I can sing it. You may be amazed."

Steven hummed. "Can you sing 'Bloodshed and Dinner' by the band Fifteen Angry Vikings?"

Opal cleared her throat behind her fist. She licked her lips, took in a deep breath. Steven leaned forward in anticipation.

" _SCREEEEE—!"_

Ruby poked her head around the corner. "You stop that."

Opal pursed her lips with a sheepish purple blush across her face. Ruby disappeared from sight once again, her footsteps echoing down the stairs. Above Opal and Steven, Sapphire walked up…or down?...another flight of steps. Opal and Steven remained on their little platform. Opal had her legs spread out in a 'V' shape, while Steven sat on her right thigh.

All around them—vertical, horizontal, sideways, upside-down, dead-ends—were countless marble stairs. Steven couldn't tell what was right side up anymore, or even what was left or right. Watching Sapphire, she disappeared into an archway and remerged three flights over, walking sideways from Steven's perspective. Everything was white and lined in thick black—the whole place was like a real-life Escher painting. Opal had explained that it dated from the war days. From the outside, it looked like other Gem-built structures, a grand glass spire placed in the bumpy green hills of a mountain range. Once Crystal Gems stepped inside, they were met with this defiance of logic.

Opal said that there had to be _some_ kind of exit, in case Homeworld Gems got inside and had to get back out. The trouble was finding it. For once, Opal was sitting out of the action. She could remember things quite well once she was with it for a long time, but the sporadic paths of the labyrinth were too much for her. Steven was just kind of keeping her company.

Above him and upside-down, Ruby reappeared through another archway. She stopped halfway down the flight of stairs with a finger on her chin.

"I think if I go left here," she called out, "I'll be onto something."

Opal called back, "Our left or your left?"

Ruby didn't reply. Instead, she sat down and hugged her knees. Sapphire passed her on the other side of the staircase.

Watching Opal, Steven saw her lips purse and her eyebrows furrow. She looked like she wanted to go up there and join them, but also doubted whether she should. It wasn't often that Opal's forgetfulness was a true problem, but when it was, it was the only time that Opal seemed to start worrying about it. Not that Sapphire or Ruby ever gave her a hard time about it, but Opal was the leader of the Crystal Gems, and she currently could not lead.

Steven cleared his throat. He succeeded in bringing Opal's eyes back to him, so he asked, "So, what else do you remember?"

She puffed her cheeks and pooched her lips at him. She twirled a finger in his curls. "Wha' choo' mean?"

"You've been around for a really long time. That means you've learned a lot, right?"

She grinned and nodded. "Yup." She started to tick off her fingers. "Songs, poems…I know how to play the dulcimer…I know some human languages. ¿Cómo estás hoy, Steven?"

Steven perked up, recalling something he'd read from the internet a while back. He grinned proudly at Opal and recited, "Mis pantalones están hechos de queso."

"…Síííííííí."

Steven shifted on Opal's leg. Below them, Ruby and Sapphire finally ran into one another. Sapphire let out a small sigh, while Ruby threw her arms into the air and screamed, _"HOW?!"_ Opal sent them another worried glance.

Drawing his knees to his chest, Steven asked with caution, "What about…you know, the old days?"

Opal gave him a sad, but knowing smile. "You mean the war days?"

Steven nodded. He wasn't looking at her, until she gave a light chuckle. Opal leaned back on two of her arms, the other two in her lap.

"Yeah, I remember. I was the first Gem enlisted. I was there for all of it, right from the beginning and even before that."

Steven's eyebrows went to his hairline. His awestruck stare went unnoticed by Opal. Her eyes were focused on nothing, glazed over in nostalgia. It took him sitting up from her thigh for her to look at him again.

" _Whoa._ You and Mom went _way_ back!"

Opal barked a laugh. She leaned forward to Steven, arms folding, eyes bright and grin wide. Steven stepped closer like she was going to share a deep secret.

"When Rose Quartz decided to start the rebellion against Homeworld, I was tech—" She paused, and gave an awkward cough. "—I _was_ the first Gem she went to."

Opal winked at Steven and crossed her fingers together. "She and I were like two peas in a carrot."

Steven's hands went to his heart. As he gave a light sigh, a tear shining in his eye, he said, "That is so sweet, even though that doesn't make sense. So why did Mom go to you, first?"

"Because she trusted me. You know…"

She looked over her shoulders, up and down, and leaned in close. Steven did too, perhaps too much, because their cheeks ended up smooshed together.

Opal whispered, _"Rose Quartz trusted me more than anyone."_

He gasped. _"ANYONE?"_

"Shhh! I didn't whisper just for effect." Steven slapped a hand over his mouth. "But yes."

Somewhere, Sapphire called out, "We found the way out!"

Opal pushed herself to her toes and followed Steven to the edge of their platform. Below them, Ruby and Sapphire stood side-by-side in front of another archway. Both pairs—Opal and Steven, Ruby and Sapphire—were looking 'down' at each other.

Ruby pointed into the archway. "Sapphire says if we keep going through here, we should get out!"

Sapphire shrugged.

"You guys stay there and we'll trace our steps back—"

Opal lifted Steven up by his armpits and tucked him to her side like a football. In one graceful second, she leapt up and descended down onto the other side of Ruby and Sapphire's staircase. One long step was all it took for the four of them to be on the same side. Steven didn't know how, but he didn't feel nauseous for a second.

While Opal set Steven down to his feet, she asked, "Why didn't you guys do that to begin with?"

Ruby huffed. "We don't all have gravitas."

"I don't believe you know what that word means," said Sapphire.

" _I don't care!"_ Ruby threw her hands into the air again, and kept them like that as she went through the archway. The others were already following, but she still exclaimed, "Can't we just leave already? This place is giving me fissures."

Beyond the archway, the laws of physics finally seemed to return to normal. A long hallway stretched before them. It cut off in a dead end, but either side was lined with identical marble doors. As with the labyrinth, everything looked like a sketch from a book, a perspective photo. Not helping the oddity was that the archway was not attached to a wall, so how on earth this worked was beyond Steven's comprehension.

"Alright, Saph." Steven tapped on her shoulder. "Which one?"

"Doesn't matter. It'll only open once the other ones are."

Ruby sighed. Her gauntlets almost nonchalantly appeared on her hands. "Which means that there's probably booby traps in all of them."

Opal and Steven both grinned from ear-to-ear, and together, they sung, "Don't you mean—?"

" _I. Meant. 'Booby.'"_

Opal rolled her shoulders back. "But, you're right. Let's all be careful, alright?"

Sapphire was already walking away, and Ruby followed, stepping backwards. With a proud smirk, she kept her eyes on Opal and declared, "We're all trained in the art of combat, Opal. I think we can handle a few baby tricks."

Ruby pushed on the door closest to her. She was instantly caught in a hot red inferno that consumed her entire body. Opal and Steven stepped back from the heat.

Once the flames died down, Ruby was still standing, albeit with thick smoke rising off of her body. She just closed the door. "Not that one."

Steven stepped over to the door closest to him. No one stopped him, but he hesitated. He wasn't fire-resistant or poof-able like the Gems. He doubted he'd be able to summon a shield, either.

Opal passed him, and he called after her, "Is it okay if I open this?"

Opal nodded, and went to the next door by herself. She summoned her longbow into her hands and pulled back the string until she had a simple white arrow loaded into it. While she reached for her door, she turned back to Steven. "But stand back."

Steven nodded, put a hand on the door, and pulled it open while he hid behind the door.

In a mere second, all air in the hallway was sucking out like a vacuum. Even with the door shielding him, Steven felt the force tugging at him, rustling his hair and clothes. Opal gasped and let her arrow dissipate so she could anchor herself down. Ruby and Sapphire both grabbed onto door handles. Steven couldn't even see what the door was sucking the air into; it was like a black hole in a room.

"Close it," Opal cried over the whistling wind. _"Close it!"_

Steven gave a weak push, and that was all it took. The door snapped back into place, and everything went still. Everyone relaxed with shuddering breaths.

"Okay." Opal stood straight and gave Steven a shaky smile. Her hair was mussed from the wind, and she tucked a flyaway back into her ponytail. "Let's stick together, eh?"

Steven still had his hands on the doors. "Eh."

From the other end of the hallway, Sapphire called, "Don't bother spending too long."

She pulled open another door. Steven couldn't see what was behind it, but whatever it was, it made Sapphire exclaim a startled _"Whoa, mama!"_

Steven walked past Opal to stand on the other side of the next door. Opal summoned a stronger, brighter arrow and used another hand to grab the handle.

She and Steven nodded at one another, and Steven pulled the door open.

Nothing burst, sucked, or even really moved. Slowly, cautiously, Opal and Steven inched closer to the door, just enough to look inside. They held their breaths.

There was nothing inside the small, blank room except a pane of glass standing in its middle. A mirror, Steven realized. It was in an ornate white frame, upright without any stand. The open door was reflected on its surface.

Opal, baffled, stepped forward. She tipped her arrow to the floor. Steven could not see the full reflection from where he stood, but he could see a sliver of Opal's form in the mirror. It still remained as still as ever.

Steven hummed. "It's just a mirror."

"Looks like it." Opal paused. A hand went to the back of her neck. "Unless it's another…"

"Lapuzo Lazulo?"

She coughed. "You said it, not me."

Opal's eyes narrowed at her mirror, or maybe her reflection. Her lower pair of arms crossed over her belly. "You know…I kind of…"

She didn't finish. Steven pressed, "What?"

"I…I—"

She didn't get to go on any further. Something pushed between them, making them both gasp and lurch aside. Steven caught himself on the door.

Sapphire charged straight at the mirror, bashing it with her shoulder. The second it hit the floor, its face shattered. Pieces and shards of glass bounced into the air. Sapphire didn't stop there—she hopped onto the shards, lifting up the skirts of her dress, and stomped on them as hard as she could. Shards were split into smaller shards, every step going _crunch-chick-crunch._

Sapphire finally stopped and looked down at her handiwork. For one last good measure, she flipped the empty frame over.

For a long minute, the three of them stared down at the mess.

Steven clicked his tongue. "Well, that happened."

Sapphire turned to them. "What did you see?"

Opal stared down at her, baffled and wide-eyed. "Our…reflections?"

"What else?"

"Nothing…? What's wrong, Sapphire?"

"This mirror—" Sapphire stepped away from the shattered remains and let her skirts fall back down. "—is a dangerous weapon. I've seen others like it drive Gems _mad._ It takes a hold over them, keeps them to it. If either of you had stared at it too long, you would be so entranced by it that you wouldn't let anything or anyone stand between you and it. It was sick to leave it in here for anyone to stumble on. I don't care if no one ever finds it, I want it gone."

Steven glanced down at the shards on the tiled floor. "'Tis gone, Sapphire. 'Tis gone forever."

"Not yet."

Sapphire sighed and stooped down to the pieces. She lifted a hand, and a few shards were coupled together into a Bubble. She summoned another one, too, but then sighed as she looked around. There were a good many shards left to take care of.

"Sapphire, Sapphire, let me."

Opal stepped over to her fellow Crystal Gem, and Sapphire let her pop the Bubbles. Opal spread her arms out over the spread of shards, took a deep breath, and gathered them together in a pale purple dome. With a grunt, she pulled it tighter, until it was a Bubble like any other. The shards inside were packed tight.

Opal lifted a hand to send it away, but Sapphire hummed discontentedly. Opal rolled her eyes, but grinned. "I'll double-bubble to ease your troubles."

She did that, wrapping another Bubble around the first, and sent it away.

"I want it burned," said Sapphire.

"It will be burned," Opal assured.

"Yo!"

Steven looked back into the hall. Ruby was standing in front of one of the many doors, beyond which Steven could see the pale blue sky of the outside world. Steven didn't know what else was in the other doors, just that there were fumes whisking the floor and the stench of acid in the air. One door was trembling.

Ruby jabbed a finger outside. "Are you guys done? I've been waiting for, like, ten minutes!"

The three Gems joined the fourth at the door. They were at the very top of the spire, the door leading to a straight drop to the rocky ground below. Steven still didn't get it. They'd been through all of that, and they were just fifteen feet above ground? That was it? And it seemed that the sun had barely dipped during their whole misadventure.

Ruby landed hard on both feet, Opal landed delicately on one toe, and Sapphire and Steven came down in one gentle drift. With the soft wind tickling at his skin, Steven looked back to the spire. He hadn't realized how thin it was, either. It seemed more like a barn silo the more he looked at it.

"I am losing all hope in logic." Steven looked up at Opal. "How are we going to make sure that people stay away from this?"

Ruby held her hand to Opal without looking at her. Opal brought a hand to the Gem in her forehead, and as it glowed a twinkling white, she reached inside. When she pulled her hand back out, she was holding a roll of bright yellow police tape.

She handed it to Ruby, who snapped it straight like a whip. She grinned at Steven. "Human-repellant wire is amazing, isn't it?"

* * *

Once they had returned to Steven's Room via the Warp Pad, the four Gems created a line before the Temple Door. Ruby held her Gem up to its place on the star, the other hand stretching behind her head. She disappeared into her room, and as soon as the cracked door shut behind her, Sapphire stepped forward.

"Hey, Opal?"

Opal turned down at Steven, who was tugging on her leggings. Smiling, she said, "Yes?"

Sapphire's door reappeared behind her. While Opal's two Gems glowed bright, Steven said, "Can I ask you about something personal?"

The smile on Opal's face fell as the door opened to her room. She gestured for Steven to follow her inside, and as he did, she said, "Okay, but…You should know, I don't know anything about the human body or—"

"Stop. _Stop."_

"Sorry."

"It's something else."

He and Opal kept walking, winding through the piles upon piles of collections between the wet stalagmites. Here was a tower of knit sweaters, here a grand array of painted birdhouses. Steven passed by a jewelry box filled with enough gold and silver to hold a family for generations. Opal glanced at them all as they walked. Every now and then, she'd stop to set something straight or rub something off.

"Fire away," Opal said.

Steven took a deep breath.

"What was Mom like?"

Opal slowed in her steps, and for a minute, the two of them walked in silence. Eventually, she clasped a pair of hands behind her back and took a deep breath. Instead of looking back at Steven, her eyes drifted upwards. She was once again in glaze-eyed daydreams, lost in her own little world of memories. Steven followed close behind her.

"Rose Quartz was…" She paused. "She was…everything you could ever want to be."

Steven said nothing. He waited for her to continue.

"She was kind, she was fearless, she knew how to lead, she knew exactly what to say to make you feel better…She was the most understanding person I'd ever met. She was almost too good to be true."

Steven nodded. He'd heard it all before—how kind Rose Quartz was, how great of a leader she was—but he'd rarely heard it from Opal's perspective and hers alone. She usually brought Rose up when the others did, and didn't speak of her otherwise. But now that he knew that Opal was the first true Crystal Gem, he wondered how different things were from Opal's eyes.

"Rose opened my eyes to things I didn't know, things about _myself_ that I didn't know. I didn't know what I was supposed to be, but Rose helped me figure it out."

"So…You and Mom knew each other longer than Ruby or Sapphire did?"

Opal nodded with pride. She and Steven came to the edge of a small pond amongst the rocks. The water inside shimmered and wavered with each drop that fell on its surface. Steven remained at the shore, but Opal kept walking, her toes moving across the water as if it were no different than the floor. Once she was at the center, Opal turned back to Steven.

"Rose Quartz and I went farther back than you'd ever believe. I was practically her right-hand Gem. If Rose ever told anyone anything, she told me."

Opal stuck out a long leg, her toe pointed down into the water, and span in a single, smooth circle. As the water rippled beneath her, weapons rose from beneath the surface. They were all swords, Steven realized. Longswords, broadswords, claymores, rapiers, sabers…They rose up and suspended themselves in the air like strings. Steven watched from the shore, amazed.

"What are those?" asked Steven.

"Weapons from the war," Opal replied with a grin. "See, I wasn't always skilled in combat, and I wasn't always handy with my bow, either. _But,_ Rose helped me. I wasn't that good at first, but she kept with me. I finally got good enough to go out into battle unafraid."

Opal reached out and plucked a sword from the air. It was simple, long, thin, not very garnished, but visibly worn. Opal did not swing or slash it, but she held it in her hands with nostalgia.

Steven hummed. "Mom sounds amazing."

Opal nodded. "She was."

"Hm." He kicked a pebble into the water. "Wish I could have met her."

Opal finally looked at him, but only after he'd turned away. He was staring down at his feet now.

Opal put the sword back in its suspended place without taking her eyes off of him. She paused, fingers curling into her palm, and finally grinned. She cleared her throat and called, "Hey, Steven!"

Steven—who had spent the last few seconds trying to flip a rock with his toe—looked up at her.

"Do you want to see something special?"

Steven paused. Opal kept grinning at him like she just had the most important secret in the world.

Slowly, he squished his cheeks with his hands. "Special?"

" _Spe-e-e-e-ecial."_

"Show me."

Opal knelt down, suddenly stone-faced. Her fingers just barely met the water's surface, but ripples went rolling across the pond regardless. As Opal lifted her hand, something followed it, rising up from the water's depths. Steven could not tell what it was at first, just that it was long, thin, and a familiar rosy pink. Even when the whole thing was in Opal's hands, he couldn't place a name to it. He noticed a rose symbol on its side.

Opal held it out for Steven to see. "Do you know what this is?"

"A sock."

"No. What?"

"Ask a question, get an answer."

Opal just shook her head and finally tiptoed back to the water's shore. Once she was again standing before Steven, she knelt down and held it to his chest. He could see some of its finer details up close. The thing was tipped on either side by fine silver, and the rose symbol was made of a sort of bright opalescent material. One side of it ended in a narrow arrow, but the other one had a thin opening—it was a sort of hollow sleeve, he guessed.

"This," said Opal, "is a scabbard."

"Ew."

"The one that held your mother's sword."

"Oh!"

Opal nodded. "I found it the last time we went to the Strawberry Battlefield. I thought it was gone forever; I never thought I'd find it there. But I did!"

Steven stared down at the scabbard. He thought it was in pristine shape at first glance, but now, he noticed some signs of wear on it. The silver was clouded in some places, and the more he looked for them, the more he saw tiny nicks and cuts in its face.

This was the scabbard his mother carried at her hip, he realized. She'd gone into battle with this, had it at the same time she held her sword and shield. He wondered how old it was.

"And now it's yours."

It took him a second to realize Opal had spoken. "What?"

Opal pressed it to his chest with a light nudge. Steven wrapped his fingers around it, holding it carefully, as if it were to shatter.

But Opal just smiled. "You're Rose's son. If anyone should have it, it should be you. I was just…um…" Opal's eyes flickered away, her smile wavering. "Holding onto it for you…?"

Steven closed his fingers tighter. Opal was entrusting him with this—trusting that he'd take care of this, this lasting physical touch of his mother. He might as well have been holding a ten thousand karat diamond.

A grin split his face from ear to ear. His eyes sparkled like stars up at Opal. "Thanks, Opal!"

Opal leaned forward just quick enough to peck her nose on his forehead. "Boop."

He hugged the scabbard closer to his chest. "Hey, can you tell me other things about Mom?"

"Later." Opal stood to her toes, folding her arms behind her back and across her belly. "I have a few things I need to do right now. You should go back to your Room."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks anyway!"

He turned on his heel and was just about to dart into the collection labyrinth when Opal called out, "Wait! Do you know how to summon the door out?"

Steven sent her a thumbs-up and disappeared from sight. His footsteps faded away, paused, came back, paused. Opal could almost follow him with her eyes, could tell where he paused and where he backtracked.

He eventually reappeared where he was before. "Nevermind. I'm lost."

* * *

Later that night, the scabbard was above Steven's headboard. He had it held on two hanging pegs like a proud plaque. It was the one place that he knew for sure wouldn't get the scabbard damaged.

Steven kept glancing at it as he pushed his umbrella into his cheeseburger backpack. He was almost afraid that it would drop at any moment. Even when his backpack was stuffed and he had it on his back, his steps were slow to the stairs just so his eyes could linger on it for a few moments longer.

"Steven! Skedaddle!"

He jumped. "Skedaddling!"

He ran down the stairs and to the Warp Pad, where Ruby and Sapphire were already waiting. Ruby was tapping her foot impatiently, arms crossed and lips pursed. Sapphire was looking over her shoulder at the Temple Door. The other Crystal Gem was nowhere to be seen, much to Steven's confusion. Opal was almost always the first one on the Warp Pad.

He stepped onto it as Ruby groaned. "Where is she?"

"We may have to go without her," said Sapphire.

Steven felt his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "Go without Opal?"

"Well!" Ruby threw her arms into the air. "If she can't get here in the next three hundred years, then yes!"

Steven hummed. He, too, turned to the Temple Door. The purple and white gemstones were dull.

"What's taking her so long?"

Ruby made an angry "I don't know!" whine. Sapphire clasped her hands together.

"We should go," she said.

"But—"

"Buts are for sitting," snapped Ruby. As the lights rippled around the edges of the Warp Pad, she raised her voice and cried, "WE'RE LEAVING WITHOUT YOU, OPAL. DON'T BE MAD."

Steven kept his eyes on the screen door as its image wavered with the Warp Pad's energy. He was expecting Opal to burst in and apologize for being late, or maybe emerge from the Temple Door and hop on with them. Opal never missed a mission—never.

She didn't appear, and the three of them were whisked away.

* * *

It was a long time before they returned to the Room. There still wasn't anybody around, and Steven was thankful. They didn't exactly look ready for Sunday services. Sapphire was sprinkled in a mountain of glitter with a pair of sunglasses over her bangs. Ruby's arms were held out in a frozen T-shape, stiff as tree limbs. Steven himself was still purple—at least, the pigment was fading from his skin quickly. He was the color of an eggplant a minute ago; now he was lavender.

"That was crazy," Steven gasped out. "What an interesting series of misadventures we just encountered!"

"Agreed," said Ruby. She walked off of the Warp Pad, her arms still unmoving. "If only someone could document our encounters in detail so their fascinating aspects could be captured in a sort of short plot."

Sapphire hummed. "It would take too long. There are other things to focus on."

Steven looked to the screen door again. Not that he would be able to tell, of course, but it seemed that it hadn't budged an inch. The Temple Door's gemstones were as dull as they'd been when they left.

He groaned and shrugged his backpack off. " _Where_ is Opal?"

"She may have gotten lost again," Ruby sighed. "Hopefully she'll be back in under three weeks this time."

Steven frowned. "Ruby…"

"Alright, alright. That was mean. But I meant it."

Steven puffed his cheeks out. Pouting, he insisted, "Opal's memory isn't that bad!"

Ruby probably would have held up her hands if she could. "I didn't say it was!"

Sapphire had already disappeared into her Room. The door was still glowing white as Ruby walked up to it. She could still use her Gem, thankfully, and the Door split in half. She turned back to Steven as the image of her Room appeared behind her.

"But…" she said. "If she didn't forget, then she just decided not to come."

She walked into her Room without another word.

Alone in the Room, Steven was left to stare after her. Ruby's words were harsh and clipped, but…they were right. Opal would never willingly skip out on a mission…right? Or perhaps she got caught up in something elsewhere. She might not have even been in the Temple, maybe not in Beach City. Not that Opal could not handle herself, but Steven couldn't help but worry for her.

He glanced to the scabbard again.

At the same time, the Warp Pad rippled beneath him. He jumped off before he got caught in its stream, and watched the light thicken and waver. A vague shape formed, liquid like sun glitter. And sure enough, when the lights fell, it was exactly who Steven expected.

Opal rolled her shoulders back with a sigh. She did not notice Steven at first—her eyes were unfocused but thoughtful—but when she did, she jumped. Steven did, too, before he could help himself.

Opal let out a shaky laugh. "Don't scare me like that!"

"I was just standing here."

"And you scared me."

"I apologize."

Opal stepped off the Warp Pad. She gave a long yawn, her lower arms stretching out straight. Still graceful, her movements were slugged down by exhaustion.

"I'm going to hit the bedbugs bite."

Steven clicked his tongue. "That is incorrect."

"To-may-toe, to-mah-toe."

Her Gems flashed with their stones on the Temple Door. Steven stared at Opal as she smacked her lips. When the Door opened to her Room, the water inside trickling musically, she was just about to step in when Steven called out to her.

"Where were you?"

She turned, eyebrows raised. "Hm?"

"We had a mission, Opal. We had to go without you."

She winced and sucked air through her teeth. Her eyes turned away from him. Embarrassment dusted over her cheeks. "Riiiiight. Forgot."

Steven huffed. So Ruby had been right.

"Well, where were you, anyway?"

"The Strawberry Battlefield," replied Opal. "I was going to see if I could find anything else worth grabbing."

"Oh."

That was good, he supposed. A decent excuse, since it was at least something productive.

"Did you find anything?"

"Nope. Nothing but strawberries."

Steven didn't realize she had one in her hand before—she ate it, smacking her lips in punctuation.

" _Welp."_ Opal span on her toe. Her ponytail swished around her. "If that's it, I'm going to retire for the evenin'."

"Wait."

Steven hesitated as he walked to her. It may have been a trick of the light, but it seemed that Opal's shoulders had just drooped when he said that. He could have sworn he heard an audible sigh from her, too.

But when she turned to him, she just looked expectant. Not smiling, just expectant.

"I was wondering if we could talk about Mom some more?" he asked.

Opal blinked a few times, then gave him a half-smile. Reaching down, she ruffled his curls and pressed her palm to his forehead. "Come on, now, Steven." Her fingers trailed down and gently ran over his eyelids until they closed. "You need to head off to bed for tonight."

He huffed and pouted. He looked up at her through her fingers, his lips mushing against her palm. "Tomorrow?"

"Sure." She winked at him. "I'll make tea!"

He didn't say anything.

Opal deadpanned. "You can have soda."

He nodded, satisfied. As Opal dropped her hand, Steven bit back a yawn. He hadn't realized how late it was until now—the silver moonlight was bright through the windows. Opal really took her time going through the Battlefield, he guessed.

"Goodnight, Opal. Don't let the bedbugs bite."

He turned and sprinted for the stairs. Opal, meanwhile, just gave a realizing "Oh."

* * *

Around noon the next day, Steven was on the patio of his Room. He had a chair pulled up to the small table—Opal, as usual, would just have to sit on the boards, which wouldn't be an issue—with a cold can of soda beside him. Opal was going to be home any second now, and she and Steven would talk about Rose Quartz. She was gone at the moment, having already left for a mission that morning. He had considered brewing some tea for her, but the last time he tried, he confused potpourri for a teabag, so he wasn't risking it again.

He crossed his legs and leaned back. It was a bit cloudy that day, and the weather report said that there would be a light wave of rain coming in later. But that was hours from then, so there would be plenty of time for him and Opal to talk outside.

He wondered what he was going to ask her about. Maybe he should have planned the questions beforehand, but he was more invested in the idea of talking about Rose than the actual talking. He could ask about stories between the two of them, he guessed. He'd never heard many of those. He could ask about what it was like when they all lived in the Temple.

The door swung open, and Sapphire stepped out of the house, the wind whipping at her hair and skirts. Her head turned left and right across the beach in one slow, lighthouse-esque move.

She turned to him, but didn't say anything. Ominously. Steven didn't, either. Confusedly.

Eventually, she just walked to the edge of the deck and floated straight off.

Steven stared after her for a moment, but eventually just shook it off. Just Sapphire being Sapphire. He guessed…

Thirty minutes passed without Opal. No one else emerged from the house.

An hour. His drink staled to lukewarm. The clouds grew thicker.

Two hours. It started to drizzle.

Three hours. No drink. Full rain. Cold.

Eventually, when the table umbrella became useless against the fat drops, Steven just sighed and grabbed his empty soda can. He ducked into the door of his Room just as thunder clapped behind him. The water clung to his curls, and he shook it out like a dog. He would have to change his drenched shirt, too.

To his surprise, the Warp Pad activated just then. Not-so-much to his surprise, it was Opal.

The second she materialized, she turned for the Temple Door—not burnt, not frazzled, not short of breath. She did not respond to Steven in the slightest. She had her gemstones flashed in two seconds flat. She would have ducked straight into her Room if Steven hadn't raised his voice.

"Opal!"

She turned to him. The way she spoke, it was like they had just gotten out of a conversation not one second ago. "Yes?"

"What do you mean 'yes'?"

"'No'?"

Steven glared at her. She shrugged. She genuinely didn't get what was wrong, Steven realized.

"Opal, we were supposed to talk today. I've been waiting for hours!"

And just like she'd done the day before, Opal flinched and sucked air through her teeth—almost in the exact same way. One eye closed, she murmured, "I forgot."

Steven sighed. Dumping his empty soda can into the garbage, he asked, "Is something wrong? You've been more forgetful than usual. You're acting weird—"

"Hold that thought. I'll be just a second."

Opal darted into her Room. As she said, it was literally a second before she reemerged. Steven couldn't tell what she'd done—she wasn't holding anything.

She hopped right back onto the Warp Pad. "What is it?"

Instead of answering, Steven exclaimed, "Where are you going _now?_ "

"I'm not finished with my mission. Steven, I'm really sorry, but there's a giant mantis creature wreaking havoc in the grasslands. I have to go."

"Well…Okay, but—"

"Bye!"

She was whisked away by the lights without another word.

Steven stared as if she were still before him, baffled, confused, and somewhat appalled. The way she just zipped in and out of the place…Like she genuinely just did not care that she'd forgotten about their arrangement. Which was so, absolutely unlike her that he couldn't wrap his head around it. And why on earth would she have to come _back_ from fighting a giant mantis in the grasslands, then go back and continue the job? Without telling anyone?

Surely…Opal wasn't trying to avoid him?

No. No, no, not Opal.

She was just in a hurry. She wouldn't avoid him. She wouldn't.

He didn't hear the door open, but he felt something cold against his arm.

Sapphire nudged him with the soda can again. It was the exact same one he'd just finished. The cold water rubbed onto his skin. "Got you another one."

* * *

When Opal returned, the moon was once again high in the stars. Steven had already climbed into bed, teeth brushed and pajamas on, and was teetering on the brink of slumber when lights shocked through his eyelids. He blinked at them, and his eyes finally realized the dark blob in the middle of the Room. He was so tired, he had to understand everything piece-by-piece.

Opal went to the kitchen sink and reached into the cabinet beneath it. Steven heard bottles and cans clinking and 'bonk'-ing together. Occasionally, she paused—perhaps reading a label—then sigedh and put the thing back. She eventually picked up something and stood to her toes. The moonlight glinted off of it with such intensity, so Steven concluded that it was the metal polish. Opal lifted it up to her Gem, and as it rippled with white light, swallowed the can into it.

Opal hopped right back to the Warp Pad. She didn't even make a sound.

"Opal."

She flinched. Light or not, Steven knew she flinched.

However, she came closer to him. Gliding across the floor until she could reach up and pull herself into his loft with one hand. Steven could see her moonlit-blue hair and her almost stark-white eyes, looking down at him. She was like a ghost.

"Hey," she whispered. She knew how sound-sensitive Steven was when he was tired. "What is it?"

"Where were you?"

"I told you, Steven, it was a mission. I know it took a few hours, but—"

"Three days."

She blinked. "What?"

"You were gone for three days. Ruby's been angry for three days. Sapphire's been quiet for three days. I haven't been able to reach the top cabinets _for three days."_

Flinch. Hiss. One-eyed frown. "Sorry. I—"

"Opal, please tell me what's going on."

She gave him wide eyes, like she was surprised, but it was unconvincing. So, very, unconvincing. "Nothing's going on."

"Yes, there is." He sighed and sat a little straighter. He leaned his back against his pillows. "Look, I know it's hard to talk about things sometimes, but I'm worried about you."

"I'm sorry. But I'm not trying to keep anything from you. There's nothing to keep."

"You're spending a lot of time away and whenever I ask about it you just dodge the question. You _never_ spend so much time on missions. Especially not without telling us. Seems pretty keep-y."

"Steven, it's not like that."

"Yes, it is."

"No—"

"Stop lying to me!"

" _I'm not lying!"_

Her voice snapped so sharply that Steven flinched. In the pale moonlight, Steven could see her curled lip and narrowed eyes. It was not the fiery glare she'd given him when he accidentally slapped her during the episode with Peridot. It was not a look that said 'You're in trouble' or 'How could you?'

No, this one was inarguably ten times worse—she wasn't angry, she was _annoyed._ She wasn't upset that Steven had hurt her, she just…wanted him to stop talking. It stung worse than bee stings. He felt it go straight into his head, prickling behind his eyes and making his nose burn.

Opal shrunk in on herself, as if a headache had consumed her. She hid her eyes behind her hand, but not as if she was going to cry. When she dropped it, she stared up at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes.

"I…" Opal tucked a flyaway hair back into her ponytail. Two of her hands curled and uncurled. "Nothing is going on."

She met his eyes, and the look intensified because of it. Steven couldn't be angry anymore. She caught the concern and borderline pity in his eyes, and whatever fire had consumed her, it only kindled it. She stood back to her toes.

"Go back to sleep, Steven."

She hopped back to the first floor, and Steven heard her gasp. Down below, there was a hulking shape in the room, hunched on all fours with a great mane of hair.

Lion blinked at Opal, his tail swishing back and forth. As emotionless as he was, there was something dark in his eyes, like he knew that the tall Gem had done something wrong to Steven.

Opal gave him a short but sharp look and walked away. She tried to ignore how the animal's eyes followed her.

She didn't face Steven as the lights whisked her away once again.

Steven was left in the silence. He was wide awake yet so confused; he was almost dizzy. Just last week, Opal was telling him all about Rose Quartz, what she was like, all without him asking, and now she was acting as if he were gum she'd found on her shoe. Actually, no, it was worse than that, because Opal was the person he spent lazy-days with, who helped him calm down from nightmares, who used to sing him lullabies when he was a little child and didn't understand that the thunderstorms outside weren't going to hurt him. He couldn't feel any guilt because _what was he supposed to be guilty about?_

Something told him to go follow her, but as late as it was, and the attitude she had…Well, Steven didn't even know where she went.

He laid back down and pulled his covers back up. His restless eyes stared up at the ceiling for a long time. Eventually, Lion crawled up to the loft and sat over his feet. Opal's eyes wouldn't leave Steven's mind. He wondered when he would see her again, in the morning, next week, next month…He didn't know what he was supposed to say to her.

His eyelids grew heavy despite the earthquake in his chest. Everything began to blur, the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, the posters, his headboard—

His eyes shot wide open.

His scabbard.

Rose Quartz's scabbard—it was gone.

He sat up—jolting Lion awake, earning him a glare—and turned to look at the empty spot. He knew for a fact that it was right there when he went to sleep. He reached down behind his headboard to grab it.

 _Opal._

Her name popped into his head before he could help it. He thought back to just a minute ago, trying to recall every last detail he could. Opal sitting on her legs, fingers curling and uncurling…and one hand reaching upwards.

"She stole it," Steven whispered to himself. "Why would she steal it?"

Something shoved him.

Lion blinked at Steven, hunched over him on the bed. Steven could tell that he was suddenly alert—his limbs were straight and his tail was flicking at random. When Steven stared, Lion head-butted him again, his wet nose pushing into Steven's face.

"What?" Steven asked.

Lion head-butted him again. Sighing, Steven shoved him back.

"What?" he demanded again.

Lion stepped forward on the bed. Steven was pushed back down, his face muffled into Lion's mane. Lion sniffed at the place where the scabbard once rested. Steven could hear his nose puffing. Eventually, Lion chuffed and pulled back from Steven. He did not look amused.

"Wait…Do you know where she is?"

Lion headbutted him again.

"Would you st—! Can you please just take me to her?"

Lion blinked at him; puffed a breath in his face.

"I'll buy you a Lion Licker."

* * *

Steven—finally, it seemed—was thrown off of Lion's back when they touched down in their destination. The bright portal sealed shut behind them the moment that Steven hit the dirt. Mud smeared on his pajamas, he groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. He was probably bruised, but he'd had it worse.

The place that they were in was definitely not one that Steven had ever seen before. It looked to be on a flat cliff top, and for a moment, Steven marveled at the moonlit expanse of hills and valleys before him. They stretched so long that they faded into a haze in the distance. Gusts of dust tickled at his hair. He noted how crystal-clear the sky was here…it was like he could count every little silver eye in the blue. The moon was as big as his thumb.

Turning around, he saw what Lion had truly led him to. The face of the rock split into the mouth of a cave. Inside, the moonlight was swallowed into darkness, but Steven knew that it was deep. The ground sloped into it.

He took a step forward without thinking, but Lion cut him off. Lion circled around Steven, sniffing him all over. His bright eyes locked with Steven's.

Steven sighed. "Lion, I don't have a Lion Licker right _now._ Last time I carried one in my pocket, it melted, and it was really awkward for everyone—"

Lion knelt down before him. His back arched and his tail lowered; Lion tilted his head to Steven, pushing up his thick mane. He closed his eyes as if in respect…not that Steven understood why. At all.

Steven petted him.

Lion glared up at him.

Aaaand Steven promptly jumped out of his skin, because Lion's eyes were glowing as bright as suns.

" _Holy guacamole, Lion, what's wrong with you?!"_

Lion lifted his head. Then it wasn't just his eyes, his mane was glowing, too. It was weightless, shapeless, each strand turned to white heat, but Steven realized that that wasn't what Lion was showing him. Lion was trying to push up his forehead.

An orb of light grew from the fur, transparent like gossamer at first, then brightening and brightening—Steven flinched away from it.

There was a burst of light, and the orb transformed to something else.

For the second time that day, Steven had no idea what he was supposed to be looking at. It looked like a handle, at least. There was a cross guard, it seemed, and the handle was spiraled with thorny vines. There was a knob at the end, shaped like a rose. It was all pink and white and purple and Steven already knew what those colors meant, so he wrapped his fingers around the handle.

He pulled, and without struggle, slid the thing out. It led into a blade, he realized. It was smooth and pink and had soft petals where it met the cross guard. Steven pulled and pulled until it finally gave way into a sharp end.

The sword in his hand was surprisingly light, but not weightless. He wanted to say it felt familiar, but he knew it didn't. Lion's eyes and mane dimmed down to their normal states, and he stood back to his feet. The pinkness of the sword was not lost in the moonlight.

"Okay, Lion, I'm _not_ angry…But explain yourself."

Lion blinked at him once, then turned away. He padded to the wall of rock, turned in a circle, and laid down to sleep.

"That is not an explanation."

Lion just lazily peeked up at him with one eye.

Steven turned back to the cave mouth and tightened his grip on the sword. Inside, he could hear the wind whistling through the rocks, could still hear the water dripping inside.

He took a deep breath and ventured in.

The cave went deeper than he anticipated, and he found himself leaning back to keep from sliding down. The rocks were slick and warped into soft angles, but with a clear pathway. Eventually, he found himself padding through ankle-high water that numbed his toes cold. He shivered—he really should have grabbed a coat—and looked up. It was not very dark in the cave despite its depth, like it was lit in a dull purple haze.

He ventured deeper, and the rocks spread out further and further until he found himself inside a grotto. The water was deeper, going up his calves and wetting his pajama pants, and the rocks rose up in a high ceiling dotted with soft teeth. It was a beautiful sight to see, but not the one that concerned him.

In the middle of the great lake of water was a platform not unlike the Galaxy Warp, minus the actual Warp Pads. There was a small set of steps leading up to it. The tip of the sword dragging in the water, Steven ascended them.

There were piles of clutter on it. A small collection of swords, stacked CDs, a pile of pennies…They were bunched together in neat piles, but Steven found little relation in them. They all looked fairly old, at least…

The floor beneath him went bright, making him jump. The light shrunk to the middle of the platform, to a small circle at the epicenter.

A familiar hand-shaped pedestal rose up from the floor. Unlike the one in the Kindergarten, however, this one had a spiral of thorns leading to a little pink gemstone in the palm.

Steven swapped his sword into his other hand. He lifted his hand, hesitated, then pressed it to the pedestal. A beam of light shot up from it, but otherwise, nothing happened.

He tried to twist his hand. It wouldn't budge. He tried again. His hand was pinned to the pedestal, like he had super-glued it in place. He propped the sword against the pedestal and tried to pull his own arm back, to no avail. He puffed his cheeks with air.

A hole appeared in the platform, scattering the CDs. Up came an array of axes, battered and dull yet polished clean. Steven blinked at them. He couldn't come up with a single idea about what exactly he was looking at.

He stuck his tongue out in thought, and another opening appeared to replace the first. A pile of books went toppling over into the water. This opening spat out what looked almost like an iron maiden; except its arms were held out so several spiked balls could dangle from them on chains. Like the swords, it was polished but obviously aged.

He experimentally pinched his nostrils. Another opening, a triple-set of Laser Light Cannons. Some VCRS were tossed about.

He closed one eye. A small array of armored suits. A bowl of oyster pearls went spilling.

He blew a raspberry. One, giant copper penny. The other, smaller pennies tinkled-and-tacked against the floor.

Looking at all the piles, he paused. In a giant pile of T-shirts, something slim and pink and familiar was jutting out.

He jumped, and the pedestal finally released his hand. With a quiet hum, it shrunk back into the floor, unlit and inactive. The sword would have fallen over if Steven didn't catch it.

He dashed to the scabbard and pulled it from the pile. It was completely undamaged, not that he had been expecting it to be.

The thought occurred to sheath the sword into the scabbard, but something else caught his attention. He could recognize all of the other stuff in the piles, but there was something on the other side of him that looked unfamiliar. It was tall and rectangular, but it just looked like a wide plank of wood to him.

He inched closer, scabbard and sword in hand. He rounded around the thing and peeked at it—

He gasped and flinched away. He tried to cover his eyes without dropping the sword and scabbard.

This thing turned Gems crazy. It broke their minds and left them as hollow shells.

So why was it there, pieced back together, he wondered?

The small subconscious voice in his head told him to run away, or perhaps break it again, but another made him pause. He'd seen something in the mirror—he didn't see himself, he saw something else entirely.

 _He shouldn't look,_ he told himself. _Don't look._

He did.

It was like looking at something with peripheral vision. It was indistinct and shifted every time he moved his eyes. Everything else was clear, though, the floor and the rocks and everything else behind him.

There was white, he decided. A lot of cloudy white, and a splash of a sort of rosy-tan. A spot of magenta was hovering over it.

Pink, too. A lot of pink.

It was easier to figure it out piece-by-piece. Curls of pink hair over wide but soft shoulders. Delicate white skirts, spotted by a rose-colored gemstone. Lips—frowning or smiling, he couldn't tell. The thing was tall, very tall, bigger than the mirror.

It was so big that its reflection cut off at its nose. Steven leaned forward to see more.

A hand covered his eyes.

"What are you doing here, Steven?"

He let out a shaky breath. The hand didn't move.

"Lion took me here."

"…The lion?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see where you…" He paused. "Opal, what is this place?"

She didn't answer. Instead, he felt two more hands wrap around his. They lifted up the sword and the scabbard—as if she wanted to hold them herself, but couldn't take them from him.

The fingers on the sword tightened. "Did Lion show you this, too?"

"He gave it to me. From his forehead."

"What?"

"I dunno."

She paused again. When he heard her voice again, it was more clipped than before. "So…She knew the Lion. I didn't know that."

There was something odd in her voice, something he'd never heard when she spoke of Rose Quartz.

Anger. Bitter, betrayed anger.

"I mean…" He swallowed. "I guess that's why he's pink?"

She paused. "That makes sense."

She sighed, her breath rustling his hair. Even though Steven couldn't see the mirror anymore, he could still almost feel it there. He felt like something was staring at him, and it wasn't Opal.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"This was our secret."

He closed his mouth. Opal continued.

"This place…She and I were the only ones who knew about it. She trusted me and me alone with it. She trusted me with everything."

Her fingers tightened on the sword.

"…I thought."

Steven licked his lips. His voice sounded weird to his own ears. "Maybe she didn't tell you about Lion for a reason? Everyone has a reason for keeping something to themselves."

The silence that followed felt icy.

"I kept this place from you," Opal replied. Steven could feel her chin on his head. "Because I was selfish. _Rose wasn't selfish."_

Steven didn't reply to that. He wouldn't know, anyway.

Instead, he asked, "Why is the mirror here?"

"Do you know why this mirror is evil, Steven? Why is drives Gems insane?"

"No."

"It shows you what you want back. It shows the most precious thing you've ever lost, and you're there with it, like it never left to begin with."

He could tell she was looking at the mirror.

"Oh."

He couldn't think of anything else to say, since he knew what she saw in her reflection.

"I thought," Opal went on, "it would be easier to pretend she was here. Just here, in our place, without anyone else."

"Easier?"

"Sometimes I wonder if she can see me through you. But that scares me."

"Well…I think she'd think you're pretty great."

The hands on his tightened. Moving together, Opal guided his hands apart, then together. Steven felt the sword slide into the scabbard, heard the soft _shiiiik_ sound.

"Not always," sighed Opal.

"I do. Always."

With her arms around him, Steven felt a tremble. She took a breath, but it was shaky and uneven. Her one remaining arm slid across his belly and squeezed him tight. She still didn't take her hand off his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Steven. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

He heard glass shatter.

* * *

He woke up later that night, or perhaps early in the morning. He did that sometimes, woke up for no reason before drifting back to sleep. His blankets were tangled around him, and he had his arms splayed out by his side.

In his sleep-drunk vision, he could see someone sitting on the floor beside his bed. She hadn't moved since they came back. For a second, Steven thought she was staring up at the portrait above the door. But her head was bent down—looking at two hands. Another was beside her, the other was on the bed, absentmindedly resting on the mattress.

Even though sleep made his movement sluggish, Steven reached down and put a hand over Opal's.

She twitched her fingers in reply. After a moment, she scooted forward, and then leaned back. With her shoulders against the bed, she tilted her head back. Her eyes were closed.

Steven drifted back to sleep. Opal was snoring before he was.


	30. The Drive

Ruby wiped the sweat from her brow with a shaky breath. Her fingers were trembling. Her breaths came out long and slow.

Without looking up, she said, "Give me another."

Steven reached into the bag to give her more supply. Beside him, Connie bit at her fingernails. Steven, too, was worrying at his lip. Anxiety made them stand on the tips of their toes.

Ruby took the thing from Steven's outstretched hand and applied it quickly. Her back was rigid. A bead of sweat ran down her temple.

"Okay...okay!" Ruby pulled back and rubbed her hands together with ferocity. Sparks flew from her palms. "Stand clear!"

Steven and Connie stepped back and held up their arms as Ruby brought her hands down. They moved quickly, carefully, with a surgical urgency. Steven and Connie peeked through their fingers.

At last, Ruby stopped. Her eyes darted up and down her work. "I think...I think it's good."

Steven and Connie looked at it in its entirety. They both gasped in awe, and at the same time, smiles broke across their faces. "Marshmallow man!"

The thing that stood between them and Ruby looked almost like a snowman, but instead made of sticky marshmallow squeezed and molded together. Three spheres formed the body and head—with the help of wooden straws, the arms. Miniature chocolate chips were dotted into buttons and eyes and a mouth. The whole thing was toasted golden-brown by Ruby's hands.

"He's beautiful," sighed Connie. She wiped a tear from her eye.

Ruby pushed the platter beneath the marshmallow-man forward to them. She smiled with pride. "Congratulations."

Steven and Connie sighed at their little creation. For a minute, they all just stared at it with pride and wonder.

Then Steven reached for the graham crackers and chocolate bars. "Alright. Let's destroy him."

He and Connie tore the marshmallow man apart, chunk by chunk, while Ruby sat back and watched. The fire in the place bathed the room in flickering orange light. It made Ruby look a sort of bloody-orange color.

Outside, little dots of snow fluttered past the windows. It had lightened up a fair bit, but the snow from before remained. The patio was blanketed in white, swaths of snow would occasionally fall from the temple's form, and the sand was covered in patches of slush. The ocean's icy-cold waves lazily lapped at the frozen shore.

Winter in Beach City was usually harmless, and very beautiful. It was still beautiful, but weather reports warned to be a bit more careful this year. The snow would be heavy, and flurries would come and go. Just two days ago, piles of snow as tall as Steven lined the streets of the town. The boardwalk had to be salted to keep everyone from slip-and-sliding like a skating rink. This job was particularly hard, because Onion kept stealing the salt.

In the worst-case scenario, the power would go out. It happened one year, when weak power lines got weighed down by the ice and broke. That was when Steven was six—he remembered Opal trying to cook dinner over the tiny fireplace while Sapphire pulled blankets over the screen door and Ruby held Steven close to her.

While Steven and Connie smooshed s'mores and tried to keep their sweaters clean, Ruby stood up. She grabbed a dry log and pushed it into the fire. She didn't even flinch as flames licked at her fingers.

"I kind of feel bad," said Steven, "murdering our creation and all...But it's also super delicious."

Connie nodded and hummed an enthusiastic "Mm-hm!" She swallowed, licked her lips, and added, "I've never had one of these before, because my parents said they were heart attacks waiting to happen, but it's _so_ good!"

Steven looked over at Ruby. She was standing beside the fireplace, hands on her hips, eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes moved side-to-side. She was as alert as a hunting dog.

Steven swallowed three times to get a bite of marshmallow down, then took another bite before he could help himself. "Wha ith it, Ru-ee?"

Ruby turned to him, but did not look at him. Her eyes went up to the ceiling. The loft. The windows. The smiles on Steven and Connie's faces fell. They glanced at one another with unease.

"Ruby?" asked Connie. "What's up?"

Ruby spoke in a low whisper. "Something's wrong...Off..."

Steven and Connie could not tell what. They, too, looked around the Room as if they would see what Ruby was talking about. They couldn't tell what it was, though. The fire was lit. The snow was falling. In the quiet, their nervousness grew. Unconsciously, they shuffled closer together. Surely, they wouldn't have to worry about a Gem monster now? It was just Ruby there to protect them—they wouldn't be able to get Sapphire from her Room in time, and Opal was out on a mission.

They almost jumped when Ruby snapped her fingers. "Oh! Now I know!"

She seemed completely eased, so Steven and Connie asked together, "What?"

"Quiet! It's too quiet in here. It's discombobulating."

Steven and Connie both nodded and chorused an "Oh". Listening now, it _was_ awfully quiet in the Room. The fridge was humming, and the fire crackled low, but that was it. Any quieter and they would hear their blood in their ears.

Steven popped the last bit of s'more into his mouth, dusted graham crumbs from his fingers, and asked, "Should I get my ukulele?"

"Well, hold on." Ruby spoke over her shoulder and walked to the kitchen island. "Let's see if we can get some good-time music on the radio, huh?"

The radio that Steven had just recently received from his father was still sitting on the island beside the fruit bowl. Ruby hopped on a chair to reach it. She was more tech-savvy than the other Crystal Gems—courtesy of trying fruitlessly to fix the television every time she broke it—so she already knew to pull the antennae out and set it in the right direction. She fiddled with the dial and watched the little mark move back and forth over the numbers.

"Alright," she muttered to herself. "Let's see what Good-Time Radio has on this evening."

She switched the sound on.

A warbling, crackling, piercing sound screamed out of the speakers. Everyone flinched, Steven and Connie dropping their crackers and chocolate to cover their ears. Ruby dialed the sound down, which helped, but did not stop the cacophony spilling from the poor radio.

"This isn't good time!" Ruby growled. "I'm not having a good time!"

Steven called loudly, "Turn it to something else!"

Ruby tried, but to all of their bafflement, the sound continued no matter how she turned the station. It was almost seamless. As the mark moved from one station to another, and as Ruby switched from AM to FM, and fiddled with the antennae, the terrible music just dipped and rose in volume.

Finally, Ruby just turned the thing off. She pressed the antennae down.

"I think your radio's busted, Steven," she sighed. "The speakers gave up, or something."

Steven hummed with disappointment. "That's really weird. It was working fine when I was playing audio books earlier today."

Connie reached for another chunk from marshmallow man (now more like marshmallow-torso) and asked, "Audio books?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, since I'm not allowed to watch television for _a while_ , I decided to start reading books. Then I found out about audio books." Steven frowned. "The one downside is that the tape goes by chapter, so if you don't finish, you have to start over from the beginning."

Ruby blew a raspberry and guffawed. "You should have seen him this morning—'Steven, we've got to go! Come on!' 'No, wait! Forty-six more seconds! Forty-six more seconds! There's no going back!'"

Connie chuckled while Steven pouted. He divided a graham cracker into fourths while Connie slapped him on the back.

An apple was tossed to Steven. "Ah, come on, I'm just pickin' on ya."

Ruby smiled, but her fingers twiddled over the radio buttons. "Well...If it's not the speakers, I guess the antennae's busted."

At that moment, something knocked on the screen door.

Connie cried, "Hark! A knock!"

Steven added, "A mysterious figure!"

Indeed, the snow and darkness outside the Room turned whoever stood on the patio into a grayish shape. They couldn't tell where the person's head began and their feet ended. They were bigger than Sapphire, but much smaller than Opal, so Steven didn't have any idea who it could be. They knocked again, a bit quicker. Tap-tap-tap. They tried to push the door open, but the lock held. They knocked again.

Ruby hopped off the counter as quietly as she could. Steven and Connie shuffled closer together and watched her jog to the door. Her Gem was already held upwards; ready to summon her gauntlet at a moment's notice.

Ruby pulled the door open.

Greg's voice was muffled while he said, "Hey."

He was dressed in a parka coat big enough to cover a bison. The end dusted the snow on the floorboards, and the fur of the collar almost blended into his long locks to swallow him whole. They could just barely see Greg's face. His nose and cheeks were flushed red from the cold. His beard was peppered with snowflakes.

Steven gasped and jumped up to his feet. Marshmallows rolled onto the floor. "'Tis my father!"

Connie stood, too, and went to the sofa. She pulled off the fuzzy red blanket draped over the back as quickly as she could, sending a pillow to the floor. "Come in! It's too cold out there."

Ruby stepped aside to let Greg in, and shut the door behind him. Greg shivered while the snowflakes melted into his hair and skin. He struggled to unbutton the coat, his sleeves making _zip_ sounds as the fabric rubbed together, and finally pulled it off with some assistance. It was thick, too; thick enough to stand upright while Greg stepped out of it like a tent.

For once, he was not dressed in Bermuda shorts and sandals. Rather, he was wearing jeans, boots, and a blue sweater that said 'WINTER DAD' in silver snowflakes. Steven guessed that he'd opened up the storage unit to swap his summer wardrobe for his winter one.

Connie threw the red blanket over his shoulders, and Greg sighed thankfully.

He gave them a smile while his teeth chattered. "H-h-h-hey, you t-t-two. How was your d-d-day?"

A grin split across Connie's face. "It was fantastic!"

"We took some sleds all the way up the cliff," said Steven. He moved his hand like it was going down a slope. "And we rode down and raced each other..." His hand started doing loop-de-loops. "...but then they flipped and we turned into giant snowballs."

"Then we made an igloo." With a slightly bitter tone, Connie added, "Then Lion tore it apart."

"Ruby was with us for a while," said Steven. He laughed, "She kept trying to make a snowman, but the snow kept melting in her hands."

At the door, Ruby chuckled. But it was slow and awkward, and for some reason, she did not look at Greg when he looked at her. "Heh...Yeah..." She rubbed a hand over the back of her neck.

Greg pulled his blanket tighter around him.

Connie clapped her hands together, pulling everyone's attention back. "But then we got this idea, and Ruby melted a lot of snow into water, and then it froze into ice, and we made our own skating rink!"

Steven chimed in, "We didn't have skates, but it was still really fun!"

"Sounds like it." Greg stepped a bit closer to the fire. One hand held the blanket around him while the other held up to the fire's heat. "I've been doing plum-nothing all day. The It's a Wash is closed on days like this."

Connie hummed. "Not much business?"

"That, and if the cars are still kind wet when they come out, the water freezes." Greg's easy smile faltered. He looked down to the floor. "That almost got me a lawsuit by a very angry group of clowns, so _closed_ on snow days!"

Steven and Connie both laughed, and Greg warmed his other hand to the fire. Ruby, meanwhile, went to the kitchen, pulled out a stool, and went to the dried dishes from dinner. While everyone else joked and chuckled, she set the plates into the cabinets and the silverware into the drawers. No one paid her any mind.

After a while, Steven sat back down on the floor. "So why are you here, Dad? Don't you have jam sessions at seven?"

"Yeah," Greg said in a way that told Steven he had bad news, "but I checked the weather report today and the snow's apparently going to come down _real_ heavy tonight. They said it could start at a moment's notice."

A drift of snow crumbled down the roof and onto the patio, the sound a great _fwoosh_ , making everyone jolt. Steven held out a chocolate bar like a sword. Eventually, they just gave shaky sighs and relaxed. Ruby kept putting the dishes away.

"So," continued Greg, "I thought it would be safe if we went ahead and brought Connie home before it gets bad out there."

Connie nodded. "That's probably for the best. My parents would probably implode if I got stranded in a snowstorm."

Steven frowned. "You mean _explode_?"

Connie shook her head. "No. _Implode_. Their bodies would collapse in on themselves from sheer terror."

She brought her hands together and popped her lips. Steven and Greg, disturbed, glanced at one another.

Priyanka and Doug had definitely warmed up to the Universes since the fiasco on the yacht, but they would always be wary of them and the Crystal Gems. For good reason, Steven supposed, but this was the first time they'd let Connie come to his house for so long. They couldn't blame the snow on them, of course, but Connie was supposed to be home by nine. If she didn't show, any parent would reasonably panic.

"We need to go," Steven eventually said. "Before Beach City loses a police officer and a doctor!"

"Agreed," Greg said.

From the kitchen, Ruby cleared her throat. She held a Spork up in her hand. "Where do I put this?"

Steven replied, "Just ignore it. That's what I do."

* * *

A few minutes later, Steven and Connie were squeezed together in the passenger seat of the van. Steven still had his parka on, and Connie was fiddling with the strings of her coat, but it was surprisingly toasty inside. Greg couldn't very well survive the winter in an icebox of a van, so he had a heater in the back and plenty of electric blankets. It kind of made Steven guilty, knowing that Greg was huddled up in here while Steven slept in a warm bed, but Greg was adamant that he was fine.

Connie leaned forward past Steven and looked at the window. It was no use—the snowflakes were blurring any vision to see outside. They could just barely see the glow of Steven's Room above the stairs.

The driver's door opened, and Greg crawled inside. He wasn't wearing it, but he still had his giant parka, and he took a moment to stuff it into the back (unintentionally knocking Connie's glasses sideways) before finally settling in with a sigh. He shook the ice off his hair like a dog.

"Alright," Greg said. "Seat belts?"

Connie and Steven glanced at one another. They were already hip-to-hip, squeezing for room. The last time they were in Greg's van, he let them go without.

"Um..." Steven cleared his throat.

Greg clicked his tongue. "The roads might get a little slippery tonight, guys. This car doesn't move until all seat belts are seat-belted."

Steven and Connie looked at each other again, and Steven reached for the belt. He stretched it across himself first, then passed it to Connie. Connie had to really fight to bring it across her belly, but it finally clicked into the seat. As a result, the two of them were packed like sardines, with the strap going over Steven's eyes and binding Connie's arms to her torso.

Greg nodded, and turned back to face the window.

The van did not move. Connie, unsure, undid the seat belt and clicked it in again. The van still did not move. Steven tried to move the strap behind his head so he could see. The van still didn't even budge.

"We're seat-belted, Dad," Steven said. "Are _you_ seat-belted?"

"Yes, but—oh, wait." Greg quickly zipped his seat belt out and clicked it in, then pressed on the accelerator. The van just twitched, not moving forward or backward at all. "Weird."

Greg took a second to look at the gearshift, the brake, the gas—almost everything on the dash before he finally sighed. He reached for his parka coat, decided against it, and finally just sighed and looked at the kids.

"Let me check around back."

Steven reached around Connie and unbuckled both of them. In turn, Connie reached over him and opened the car door. Crisp air and ice-flakes drifted into the van.

"We'll come with," Connie said. "Like you said, the snow will get you—" She narrowed her eyes. "— _at a moment's notice_."

Greg did not object, so all three of them crawled out into the winter wind. The snow was heavier now. Before, it was just small, drifting pinpricks—you had to look closely if you wanted to see them. Now it was like the clouds were salt-shakers trying to flavor the beach. Fat, white drops filled the air, falling onto Steven's cheeks and melting cold. They could still see clearly, though, so it was an easy journey to the back of the van.

They found the problem quickly. Greg had parked the car on a patch of snow, and it had sunken over the van's weight. They could see the ruts where the wheels had spun, but did not find grip.

"Well..." Greg sighed and knelt down to get a closer look. "This is a pickle. I was _going_ to buy some salt from the grocery today, but when I got there, all the bags were gone. There was just an onion on the shelf. That was it."

Steven, too, tried to inspect closer, and Connie followed suit. The wheels would have to pull the van _up_ if the van was to move, up and out of the rut. They could push and lift, Steven supposed, but one man and two children were unlikely to do the job. The last time the van got stuck in snow like this, Steven was with Greg, and they had to call the Crystal Gems to save them.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Connie asked.

"Well...See, if we could get some sand, we might be able to sprinkle it on the ice so the tires could get traction. But all the sand on the beach is already frozen."

"Wait!" Steven threw his hands into the air, narrowly missing Connie's face, and declared, "I know what to do!"

* * *

When they landed on the ground beside the van, having jumped off the deck, Ruby set Steven onto his feet and asked, "You want me to do what?"

"The van is stuck," Steven explained. "We have to get traction if we want it to move. So...!"

Steven turned around and held his arms out to the beach. It was still a patchwork of snow and ice, and an occasional glimpse of sand frozen hard. The heavier snow was making crystals where the saltwater met the shore.

"You can melt the ice on top of the ground to get the dry sand underneath. Then we can use that for the tires. And maybe you can get a lot of it and put it in a bag so we can take it with us and—"

A creak and a heavy _THUMP_ made Steven stop and turn around. Ruby was already dusting her hands off from work. The van was up and out of the ruts. Greg and Connie just stared, impressed.

Ruby looked over at Steven. She wiped her Gem with her other hand. "You still want sand?"

Greg chimed in, "If you don't mind? I don't want us to get stranded out there. Like last time."

Ruby nodded once. She crouched down over a patch of ice and began rubbing her hands together for friction, but Steven spoke up, "Wait!"

He dashed over—slid on the ice on one boot for a second, making everyone jump—and waved his arms for Ruby to stand. She did, eyebrows furrowed, while the ice was just beginning to steam away.

"Why don't you just come with us? For safety."

Ruby and Greg shared a look. Confusing Steven, it wasn't a look of consideration, but of hesitance. As if there would be a problem if Ruby was to tag along with them.

Greg spoke first. "I think sand will be fine, Steven."

"Okay, but what if we don't just get stuck?" asked Steven. "What if we spin out on ice and go off the road? What if we get trapped under snow? What if we go off a bridge and fall into a frozen river and break through the ice and we aren't strong enough to—"

At the same time, Ruby and Greg started waving their hands at Steven. They cried, "Alright!" "Stop that!" "We get it!" Behind them, Connie crossed her arms in discomfort. So Steven stopped.

Greg sighed and looked down at Ruby. He seemed hesitant to meet her eyes as he asked, "Do you want to come with us?"

Ruby already knew without looking that Steven was giving her the puppy-dog eyes, so she said, "Sure?"

* * *

It took a minute to get off the frozen sand and onto the actual roads. Steven and Connie were again buckled together, albeit more comfortably this time, while Ruby sat in the back.

Steven took a glance back at her every other minute or so. She was sitting cross-legged on the makeshift bed of electric blankets, hands in her lap, looking around. She looked at the posters and the heaters and the box of sweaters. A water bottle was still rolling around, and she made a little game of letting it roll across the floor.

At some point, she got bored, and stood up despite the rocking of the van. She started peeking into boxes and behind posters. At some point, she found what seemed to be Greg's pajamas. She looked at the ratty sweatpants and put those back. Then she held up the T-shirt, a dark one with a decal depicting 'MISTER OF THE UNIVERSE' in red and purple letters. She grunted and tossed it back.

Steven and Connie seemed to notice at the same time how quiet it was in the van, because just as Steven thought it, Connie asked, "How about we turn the radio on?"

Greg nodded to it without looking away from the road. "You can try."

At that phrase, Connie frowned, but turned the radio on regardless. She, Steven, and Ruby all paused when they heard the familiar sound coming from the speakers. It was quiet, thankfully, but it was still roaring and crackling and rising up and down. Connie tried to find other stations, but to no avail. It was all the same.

"You got it, too?" asked Steven.

Greg reached over and turned the radio off. "Same with you guys, huh? That's been going on for a while now. My only guess is that something's going on with the radio tower. Probably all this snow."

Steven blew a raspberry. He turned his head and called back, "Hey, Ruby, can you find a CD for us? It's in the blue box in the corner."

Ruby crawled over to it and pulled the top off. The plastic cases rattled with movement. "Which one do you want?"

"You can pick!"

Ruby's fingers hesitated over them. She started to pull them out, one-by-one, looking at the covers. Some of them had album art; some were just slips of paper. They all seemed to confuse her, and she went halfway through them until she finally paused. She reached into the bottom and pulled out an older case with a crack across its cover. The folded white paper inside read 'JAM SESSION No. 28'.

Ruby came over between the seats and pulled the CD from the case. She reached over and slid it into the player, and without hesitating, skipped to the sixth track. What came from the speakers sounded like an impromptu melody of guitar strings and a single bass chord hitting the same note over and over. Steven and Connie both began bopping their heads to the beat. Serene smiles came to their faces.

Steven looked over at Ruby and Greg, and his smile fell. They were both watching the road with oddly calm faces, yet it seemed that they were doing everything in their power not to look at each other. As the bass chords slowly started to pick up, Ruby sat back and crossed her legs again. Greg pulled his armrest down.

Connie looked at Steven first. She nodded her head at Ruby and Greg and raised a brow, but all Steven could do was shrug. Perhaps Ruby didn't like riding in vans. Or maybe Greg was just trying to focus on the road. It was possible they just didn't know how to start a conversation.

"Hey, Ruby," said Connie. "Can you hand me the case for this?"

"What? Oh, yeah, here."

Ruby passed the case over to Connie. Connie flipped it over, expecting some kind of track list, but found nothing. Steven was going to explain that Greg just like to record random guitar-playing sometimes, so there wasn't going to _be_ any tracks, but held his tongue when Connie opened the case. The paper was folded and crammed into place, but in-between the folds, something else was jutting out. A different kind of paper.

Connie tugged it out. It was folded in half, so she carefully opened it up.

She and Steven leaned in together, eyes wide. For a second, they just looked at it, fascinated, until Steven all but cried, "When did you guys take this?"

Ruby and Greg looked over calmly. Then the calmness turned into wide-eyed jumps when they saw the photograph.

It was old enough that the fold had made a white line across the picture, and the picture itself had slightly faded in color. The people in the photograph were definitely Greg and Ruby, albeit not the same ones in the van, and they stood somewhere on the beach. Ruby was sitting on a salt-crusted boulder, while Greg was standing on the sand. The ocean waves were behind them.

In the picture, Greg was shorter, leaner, and overall, just _younger_. In his early twenties, at least. He was missing his beard and his bald spot, his skin did not yet have tan lines, and his ears were pierced. His hair was darker and fuller, but still long and unkempt. He was wearing a dark T-shirt with torn sleeves and ripped jeans.

Ruby _almost_ looked the same, but in different clothes. She was wearing sweatbands around her wrists and ankles, one around her forehead, and her usual boots were instead sneakers. In spandex shorts and a tank top with a lightning strike across the front, she looked like she was about to go to a workout session.

Ruby had some kind of fabric folded in her left hand, and the other was thrown across Greg's shoulders. Greg's other hand was holding up a peace sign. They were both smiling from ear-to-ear—that was clear even if there was a lens flare across the image.

Ruby swallowed. Her fingers twitched like she wanted to snatch the photo from Connie's fingers. "That is...I...um..."

Greg tried to speak, too, to no avail. His eyes darted between the road and the photograph. "That's...from...a long time ago..."

Steven took the photograph from Connie to look closer. The photo wasn't really that shocking—just a younger version of his father and a not-even-younger Ruby. But it was the smiles on their faces that stood out to him. They just looked so happy, like they were having the time of their lives with each other.

"You guys used to be bros," Steven exclaimed. He, too, was smiling.

Ruby made an unconvincing guffaw. "Bros? We were never _bros_!"

Steven paused, and then flipped the photograph over. The word 'BROS' was written on the back of it in faded ink.

Ruby and Greg pursed their lips. Greg's grip tightened on the steering wheel. The snow was still coming heavy, so he went a little slower. The faded white lights of a car moved past them.

When Ruby said nothing, Greg finally cleared his throat. "Ruby and I just...used to hang out back in the day. No big deal."

Connie folded her hands in her lap. She crossed her feet as if she was about to hear a bedtime story and not just a recount of 'the old days.' "What kind of hanging-out stuff did you do?"

Greg clicked his tongue. His index finger tapped on the wheel. "We'd just joke around. Play board games...and stuff...we played volleyball sometimes."

Ruby snorted. Connie and Steven both looked at her—she had her arms crossed, but there was a smile on her face. She was looking out of the back window. The water bottle was still rolling around.

Greg glanced at her through the rearview mirror. Frowning, he asked, "What?"

Without turning, Ruby replied, " _I_ played volleyball. _You_ fumbled around like a fish on land."

Greg scoffed. He, too, had a small smile on his face. "Well, it's not like you played fair, you know. How am I supposed to touch the ball when it's _on fire_?"

Ruby blew a raspberry. She kicked the water bottle back. "Sorry if I punched your ego, _Keanu_."

Greg rolled his eyes. "You know why we _stopped_ playing volleyball?"

Ruby paused. From the corner of his eye, Steven saw her smile falter. Her crossed arms tightened around her chest. For some reason, she looked as if she was expecting Greg to say something bitter.

"Why?" she murmured.

Greg glared at her through the rearview mirror.

"Because you burned the net."

Ruby suddenly threw her arms into the air. She twisted around, gripping Connie's armrest with one hand as she shouted, "I did _not_ burn the net!"

"Oh, so it just spontaneously combusted?"

"It was hot!"

"If it was _that_ hot, _I_ would have been on fire, too."

"You said that when it happened. And then you were all like, 'But I guess I'm just _too_ cool to catch on fire."

Greg blew a raspberry, too.

Steven and Connie both watched them like zoo animals, with the upmost fascination. They had seen Ruby and Greg interact before, such as on the boat with Lapis Lazuli, but they only realized now how tiny those interactions had been. They spoke to each other in short syllables and quick glances. Now, they were here, laughing and joking and poking at one another as if they had always been the best of friends. Ruby flicked Greg's ear, and he flinched, but laughed.

Steven and Connie, though Steven in particular, were also both somewhat confused. If Ruby and Greg got along so well, they didn't understand why they hesitated to get into the car together. Or why they were so anxious when they found the photograph of them.

The soundtrack on the speakers finally drifted into silence. The next track started up, but Ruby groaned and reached out to stop it. "No! No. Not this one."

She ejected the CD, but since the radio automatically turned on when that happened, the warbling roar returned. Greg quickly shut it off with a frown.

"There must be some _crazy_ mojo happening at the radio tower," he noted.

Connie took out her phone from her pocket. The screen still read three bars of service. "It's weird, though...My phone isn't affected at all."

"You know what?" Steven threw his hands up. "I'm calling it. They're trying to make some new form of wave music, and everyone's going to like it, because it's the only thing they're ever going to play again!"

Connie shook her fists. "I refuse to fall victim to this system!"

From the back, Ruby groaned. She was once again flicking through the CDs in the box. "Geez, Greg, don't you have anything _good_ back here?"

"Wow. _Thanks_."

"I didn't mean it like—"

"I know, I'm just playing. That, uh, scratchy one you like should be there. The one with the disturbing cover?"

There were a few more clicks and shuffles, until Ruby murmured a victorious "Ah-ha!" and pulled her prize from the box. She popped it open, pulled out the CD, and slid it into the player. As she did, Connie reached for the case, and Ruby handed it to her. Greg went ahead and skipped to the last track on the player.

The album cover depicted a half-cat, half-dog creature fighting what looked like an angry blue wizard while an angry orange creature screamed in the background. Everything around them was burning in periwinkle flames.

Connie nodded. "That _is_ disturbing!"

Watching the road, Greg frowned. The snow had become a heavy drift of white, and everything three feet from the van was drowned out in a haze. The windshield wipers squeaked back and forth against the ice. He eased down on the accelerator and turned the van lights on brighter.

"You guys are buckled in, right?" he asked Connie and Steven.

They both pulled on the seat belt. "Yep." "We're good."

"Alright. It's really getting heavy, so keep an eye out."

The scratchy, high music of the CD was playing from the speakers now, and Ruby started to bob her head to the beat. Greg turned it up just a bit. Then the vocals started, and an operatic voice came in with the rocking rhythm. Which made sense, Steven supposed, because apparently the band's name was "Operatic Rock 2".

Listening to it a minute, Steven kept looking over to Greg and Ruby. They were both smiling, both relaxed, just listening to the music fill the car. And it made him happy to see them like that, but it was so odd, too, and questions were starting to form in his head. He just didn't know if asking about it would make the atmosphere awkward.

Connie didn't seem to mind, though, as she asked, "So why don't you guys hang out now?"

Something in the air went stagnant. Greg and Ruby did not blanch or jump, or even really move, but something in their forms went stiff. Their smiles staled. Connie, too, pressed her lips with immediate regret. The music on the speakers sounded like white noise in Steven's ears.

It took a long minute, but Ruby finally spoke up. "We just don't."

Greg shrugged.

It was either let the awkwardness fester, or try to break the ice. Steven went with the latter.

"Too busy?" he guessed.

Greg shrugged again. "Sure."

Steven hummed. Something was telling him to stop, but something else was telling him to pry. The second voice, as well as Connie's nudging, kept him talking.

"Well, we get free time every now and then," he said. "If Ruby wants, we could all hang out together."

"Yeah," said Connie. "And, uh...We could...play volleyball? I'm not good, but I can keep points."

Greg was not smiling. His hands were clammy on the steering wheel, and he almost missed a turn. The sound on the speakers was starting to hum through Steven's feet.

"I guess..." Greg cleared his throat. "I guess we could see. It's up to Ruby."

That sparked excitement in Steven's chest. Despite the seat belt binding him in place, he tried to twist around to Ruby. Connie leaned back to help.

"What do you say, Ruby?"

The words dried in his throat before he finished. In the lull, Ruby had started wandering around again, and had found a box of clothes near the back. She was holding up another T-shirt, one that looked well-worn but not ill-kept. It was purple in color, and shiny letters on the front spelled _MR. UNIVERSE_. Little sparkly stars studded the front and sleeves of it. The shirt was wrinkled into squares from being folded for so long.

Steven was about to speak again, to try to get Ruby's attention, when Ruby abruptly balled the shirt up and tossed it back into the box.

"Don't think so," she mumbled.

The iciness in her voice made Steven lean back and look at Connie. Connie was just stiff in her seat, caught in the collecting tenseness, and they both looked unsure to Greg. He had his eyes on the hazy road, but his jaw was clenched. He didn't look so much nervous anymore as tired. It was like he was almost expecting Ruby to say what she did, in that tone of voice.

A few too many minutes of uneasy silence passed. At some point, after a hard bump, one of the heaters in the back fell over. Ruby didn't bother to sit it upright again.

Connie was the first to break the silence. Her voice was uncomfortably crisp in the quiet. "Um...Do you have any drinks here? I'm kind of parched."

"Me, too," Steven threw in a bit too quickly. "I need to quench my...parchiness...?"

Connie mouthed 'what?' Steven shrugged.

Greg nodded and glanced up at the rearview mirror. The cooler was tucked into the corner beside the door. It rattled against the wall.

"Hey, Ruby, can you get some water for the kids?"

Ruby said nothing, but crawled over to the cooler. Steven heard the lid open, the sound of ice shuffling inside, and water sloshing around in bottles. But when several seconds of silence passed, Steven and Connie turned their heads to see what was holding her.

Ruby had three icy-cool water bottles tucked in the bend of one arm, but her other hand was still in the cooler. More ice shuffled inside as she pulled something out from it and held it up for inspection. It looked like an ice pack designed in a tie-dye pattern, but it looked old enough for the colors to fade in some places. From where he sat, Steven could make out the bright words on the front of it: _Have an ICE day!_

Ruby let the ice pack fall back into the cooler and slammed it shut. Steven and Connie spun back to the front as Ruby stomped her way over to them. She twisted the caps clear first, and then handed Steven and Connie their bottles. She was thanked in quiet voices.

The third bottle she haphazardly tossed to Greg. It hit him in the arm, surprising him, and the car swerved for a second. Steven's heart skipped a beat, and Connie held her breath. Ruby did not seem to realize the danger and just plopped back down, cross-legged.

Greg let out a shaky sigh when the van steadied again. He gave Ruby a light glare in the mirror. "Be careful, Ruby. Don't scare me like that."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I wasn't trying to _scare_ you."

"Boy!" Steven took three hearty gulps of water—almost choking himself—and exclaimed, "This water sure is quenching, isn't it, Connie?"

 _"Bow howdy!"_ she agreed. She slurped down half her bottle in one drink. Water dribbled down her chin.

"Oh!" Greg hesitated to speak, but seeing Connie try to wipe up the water with only her sleeve, he asked, "Could you get Connie a towel, please?"

Ruby was a lot quicker this time, and a second later, two towels were being held out to Connie. One was a bit threadbare, a navy blue color, with a little white bleach stain in the corner. The other was crumpled, but a pretty lavender color. Bright hyacinths were sewn into all four corners. But it had more stains than the first, bleach and maybe oil.

"Any preference?" She asked Greg, not Connie.

Greg glanced at both towels. His eyebrows furrowed. "No...?"

Ruby did not seem amused with his answer. She just handed the navy one to Connie, murmuring that it was probably cleaner. Connie didn't even have need for a towel anymore, so she just held it in her hands. Steven took another deep chug of water.

Ruby turned to Greg. She held up the dirtier towel. "How about I just throw this one away?"

Greg frowned. He tried to keep his eyes on the road as the snow pelted the glass. "Why? It's a perfectly good towel."

"Seems pretty dirty, to me. How about I just toss it?"

She turned away without waiting for Greg to answer. Greg tried to call over his shoulder, squirming in his seat, eyes darting between her and the road. "Ruby, hold on—"

Ruby threw the back door open, and a flurry of snow blasted into the van. It went all the way to the front. Steven and Connie cried out as the chill hit their skin and ice blew around their eyes and hair. Ruby did not seem to anticipate such a force, either, and stumbled back from it. She still had the towel in her hand.

Greg was trying to speak, but the harsh wind drowned out his voice like water. He was trying to focus despite the snow and the chill. Ruby was trying to close the doors again, clearly regretting her decision, but the wind was flapping the doors away from her. She couldn't reach them without lunging out for them. She couldn't hear Greg yelling at her.

Finally, after too many minutes of this, Greg turned over his shoulder and screamed, "Ruby, _close the door_ —!"

The tires swerved.

Everyone yelped as the van lurched to the right. Greg tugged it to the left, a poor decision on his part, as the van then began to spin. Connie and Steven clutched onto each other and screamed as Greg fruitlessly tried to turn the van straight. The tires were sliding all too easily on the icy roads, and no amount of braking was going to stop them. Between the movement and the chill and the ice in his eyes, Steven just squeezed his eyes shut.

Then the van stopped, but only by slamming still. Everyone yelped as they were tossed up by the impact. Steven felt his bones rattle.

Even though they had stopped spinning, it took a minute for anyone to move. Slowly, Steven and Connie opened their eyes. Their fingers relaxed on the other's arms. They tried to look through the window, but all they saw was black. But the other window was white, and snowflakes were still moving. One windshield wiper was still going, the other was pinned. It took a minute for them to realize what had happened: the van had swerved right-side-first into a snowbank. It collapsed down on half the van, the other half facing the road they had spun off of.

Steven and Connie gasped out shaky breaths. It came out of their mouths in white steam, all heat in the van having been swallowed up.

"Dad?" Steven asked. His voice was a hoarse whisper, and he tried louder, "Dad?"

Greg was still holding onto the steering wheel, his knuckles white. His teeth were chattering; his eyes were wide. He was both frozen still and shaking all over.

He peeled his fingers off the wheel, curling them into fists. He tried to catch his breaths, which always took a minute.

"Okay..." He said. "Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Okay. We're okay. Okay. Oooookaaaay. Okay. Oka—"

"Dad."

"Okay. Sorry. Okay—Sorry."

Greg unbuckled himself, and Steven and Connie followed suit. Steven had never been so thankful for a seat belt in all of his life. Greg leaned over to them, a hand extended. His eyes darted all over them.

"Are you guys okay? Any scratches? Bruises?"

"We're good," said Steven. "I may have a crippling fear of snow now, but I'm good."

The speakers were still playing the scratchy rock music, unaffected by the crash, and Greg stopped it. The cacophonic sounds returned, and Greg turned the radio off as well. Whatever problem the radio tower was having, no one in the vehicle cared.

Connie asked, "Where's Ruby?"

They all looked to the back of the van. A bit of snow had fallen inside, soaking the blankets, and a few of Greg's belongings had been scattered and tossed. The cooler was halfway in the car and halfway propped up on a mound of snow. They could see the wall of it outside, and the road on a slight hill behind them. The snow had decided then and only then to lighten up just a bit. Little bits of it still drifted into the van.

But Ruby was nowhere to be seen. There weren't even footprints.

"Ruby?" Steven called.

She did not appear.

Greg reached behind his seat and pulled out a sweater safe from the ice's reach. He tugged it over his head, opened his door, and told Steven and Connie, "You guys come on. I don't want that window breaking."

He crawled out of the van first, his boots sinking into the soft snow. He helped Connie out first, picking her up by her arms and setting her down behind him. He held one of Steven's hands and helped him stumble out. The three of them shuffled in their coats and boots against the cold.

"Ruby?" Connie called out. She cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed hard, _"RU-BY!"_

A distant voice called, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

From the road, a red figure was trudging its way to the van. Steven, Connie, and Greg moved to the back of the van, making sure she could see them. Steven noticed that both a back tire and a front tire had been swallowed by the snow wall. Greg rounded Steven and Connie and started to wipe the snow out of his van. It hit his boots as it fell down.

Ruby slid down the slope of the hill to them. Steven was expecting her, too, to be covered in snow, but quickly realized why that wasn't so. Ruby was so annoyed that the snow at her feet melted away before she stepped down. The snowflakes drifting through the air disappeared within a foot of her body. There wasn't a drop of water on her.

She still had the towel in hand, and gripped it as she stomped over to the van. She was glaring at nothing, and kept glaring at nothing. She stormed right up to Steven and Connie, limbs stiff, but she was still for a long time.

Still glaring, she bit out, "Sorry."

Greg said nothing. He kept wiping down the back of the van.

Ruby spoke a bit louder. _"Sorry—"_

"I know." Greg's voice was clipped, which was very unlike him. He took a deep breath. "I know. Just..."

He reached out for the towel. Ruby hesitated, but finally passed it to him. Greg wiped up the cold-water streaks left by the ice, wiping off the floor of the van and the heater it had touched. Ruby just watched him, her arms crossed.

Connie turned to Steven. "Maybe we should try to get help?"

They both turned to the road. It was almost completely barren, except for a single red pickup truck moving a bit too quickly on the side closest to them.

As it moved past, Steven called, "Help?" The truck just went right on past them. It faded from view a second later.

Steven turned back to Connie. In the most nonchalant voice, he said, "Guess we're gonna die out here."

Connie patted him on the back.

Greg finished his cleaning and handed the towel back to Ruby. She took it carefully, as if it was going to fall apart, and Greg turned back to the snow wall. Steven couldn't know for sure, but he guessed that there was no use trying to dig the van out of the snow. If they did, more of it would just tumble down. On top of that, the snow was all around them—if they wanted to get out of there, they would need some kind of path leading up to the main road. Or, at least, hope that another car would come by and notice them.

Connie checked her phone. No more bars—no way to call for help.

Greg sighed and stood straight. "We may just have to melt it down. Ruby?"

She didn't reply. He turned to her.

She had the towel in her fingers still. Her hands were warm, warm enough to dry the water inside it. But she was doing it with such care that she was ignoring everything else.

"Ruby," said Greg.

She finally looked up at him. Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"It's just a towel. Don't worry about it."

Ruby's body stiffened. Although the towel did not burn, her fingers tightened around it. Steven could feel the heat starting to ripple around it, but he wasn't stepping forward. He set a hand on Connie's shoulder to keep her back.

"It's not _just_ a towel," she bit back at Greg. She turned to the van, and as she pulled herself inside, she glared at him and said, "I would have expected you to take better care of it."

Greg paused. He seemed to want to stay quiet, but Ruby was waiting. Even though she was now folding the towel into squares and setting it among his things, she was waiting. She wanted to hear what he had to say, as if she was entitled to some kind of explanation.

Greg shrugged. He wasn't looking at Ruby. "It's either use it or let it collect dust, Ruby."

" _Or_ ," Ruby hissed, "you could use it and _be more careful with it_. Show some respect, maybe?"

Steven clapped his hands. Everyone looked to him, and he could feel the tension fester. He cleared his throat.

"So I can see that we are all _peeved_ ," he said, "but we need to focus on getting out of here before we all turn into popsicles. I don't think Doctor and Officer Maheswaran are going to be happy if Connie comes home in an ice cube."

"Fun fact," chimed Connie, "They will _not_."

Ruby stood to her feet. Curtly, she said, " _I_ did not want to be here. And hey, if I wasn't, you guys would already be at Connie's."

"Ruby," said Greg, "it's okay. You just lost your temper."

He said it as a comfort, but it was the wrong thing to say. Ruby's head snapped to Greg, lips curled back from her teeth, eyes aflame. It was like he'd said the most disrespectful insult to her, and Greg took a step back. Warmth or not, Steven pulled Connie back again.

"And you know _why_ I lost my temper?" Ruby threw her arms out at the van. Spit flew from her mouth as she cried, "Because all of this stuff is _junk_!"

She picked up the towel. "Junk."

She reached inside the cooler and pulled out the ice pack. "Junk!"

She went to the box of clothes and drew out the shirt with the stars. "And even more junk! You turned it all into junk!"

She gathered it all in her arms and shook it in Greg's face. Greg just stood there and stared at it all, at the scratches and fades and holes. Steven couldn't tell if he looked sheepish or nostalgic, but Ruby didn't care either way. She just kept shaking it around, almost pressing it into his face. She wanted him to get angry. She was egging him on.

"You threw it all away like garbage!" Her voice was starting to break. "Like it doesn't matter!"

She finally just threw it all into the snow. As they hit Greg's feet, he just kept staring at them. Even though Ruby was still watching him, he bent down and picked up the T-shirt, dusting off the snow. He held close to him and felt the fabric through his fingers.

"It's just all crammed back here like it's nothing! It's everything! She left you with _everything_ and she left me with _nothing_!"

Steven did not have to ask who 'she' was.

Greg still was not answering Ruby to her liking. She threw her hands up again. "Do you just not _care_?!"

 _"HEY!"_

It was Steven who spoke up, not Greg. He and Ruby both turned to Steven, wide-eyed, as if he was scared instead of angry.

He was actually a little bit of both, but tried to keep a straight face as he reached into his parka's pocket. He pulled out the photograph they'd found earlier and held it up to them to see. Ruby and Greg both stared at their long-gone reflection, looking at their smiles. Greg's face fell further. Ruby just pressed her lips together.

"I know you guys are upset," said Steven. He swallowed. "I know it's hard to make up with friends when something bad has happened. But you guys were _friends_. You could still be, if you would just put everything aside and _work_ on it."

Greg seemed to take comfort in his words, and at least met Steven's eyes, but Ruby did not do the same. Instead, as she continued to stare at the photograph, the heat around her continued to ripple. She hopped down from the van and all but snatched the photograph from Steven's fingers. She held it up to Greg's face, and he took a step back.

Ruby waved the photo at him. "Oh, and how about this? I bet _this_ means a lot to you, too, since you just stuffed away. I'm sure she'd _really_ appreciate that!"

Steven cut in before he could stop himself. "Why would Mom care about a photograph?"

"Because she was the one who _took_ it!"

The photograph burst into flames.

Surprised herself, Ruby dropped the fireball in her hands to the snow. It hit the snow, but it was not enough to put the fire out. Everyone watched as Greg and Ruby's smiles withered away in smoky gray curls. The flames finally died, leaving nothing but a handful of smoldering black dust in the snow.

It was a long minute, just the four of them watching the smoke curl into the air. Ruby did not turn back to Greg to snap again. She just kept staring at the photograph in something akin to horror.

Greg's voice was slow. "Let's just work on getting the van out of here."

Ruby's shoulders stiffened. Steven watched her eyes glare down into the snow. But she did not heat up any further—this anger wasn't hot and red. It was cold and dark.

"Fine. Everyone get in."

They all hesitated, unsure. Ruby's eyes darted between them, until she finally snapped, "I said, get _in_!"

She suddenly lifted Greg up by the legs and practically tossed him inside the van. He hit the blankets safely, but he still grunted in surprise. She did the same thing to Steven, who landed atop Greg, and simply passed Connie to them like a baby. She tossed the towel, T-shirt, and ice pack in after them. The three humans were left to glance at one another, baffled, as Ruby slapped the doors shut.

Ruby went to the side of the van uncovered by the snow. She crouched and dug away the snow beneath the van, kicking up a flurry of white until she wriggled beneath the vehicle and out of sight. For a long moment, it was quiet.

Then the van slowly started to life, the snow on the other side crumbling away. Ruby's breath didn't even quicken as she pushed herself up, holding the van above her head with nothing but her bare hands. The van creaked and teetered, but never dropped.

Ruby trudged up the slope of the hill. The snow at her feet melted into cold rivers, letting her walk across bare, wet grass all the way to the road. She just glared ahead at nothing in particular the whole time, and almost seemed to not mind the weight bearing down on her.

Once she finally came to the road, she moved the van forward until she was holding onto the bumper. She held it tight, turned around, and slammed the van down onto the road. The sound of tires crashing down onto icy pavement only gave her the lightest bit of satisfaction. She opened the doors.

She faltered.

Steven was groaning, clutching his elbow as he laid on his back. Greg and Connie were bent over him, eyes wide. They had all been bounced into the air when the van came down, but only Steven was hurting.

"Steven?!" cried Greg. His eyes were darting between his son's face and his son's elbow. "What is it?"

"What's hurting?" Connie asked. When Steven did not immediately answer, she looked to Greg with eyes full of newfound determination. "We're going to have to reposition his shoulder back in place. You hold him down—I'll get him something to bite down on!"

"No..." Steven murmured. He groaned again.

Again, Greg asked, "What is it?"

"My—My funny bone...Hit my funny bone..." He gave a weak chuckle. "Heh heh...It _is_ kind of funny..." He stopped chuckling. "Agh...No it's not..."

Greg and Connie both sighed in relief and helped Steven sit up. As they were on either side of him, Steven looked straight ahead as he sat up, and he froze still. Greg and Connie followed his gaze.

Ruby was still staring at Steven, mouth agape and eyes wide. Her fingers were still on the doors.

She finally noticed everyone's staring, and seemed to curl in on herself. Her hands tightened on the doors. She bit her lip.

"You guys keep going. I'll walk behind."

She shut the doors.

* * *

The rest of the drive to the Maheswarans' terraced house was quiet. Greg drove slow enough to stay safe on the icy-slick roads and for Ruby to keep up with. That was, if she truly was following them—Steven couldn't see her in the rearview mirror. As they came closer to the neighborhood, the roads were finally salted, so any fear of crashing again was sated.

When they pulled up on the curb, it was a little bit past eight-thirty. The snow was light, but would probably drop heavier soon. Greg killed the engine with what was almost a sigh of relief, like it was All Finally Over.

Connie's phone picked up a signal again, and with it came all the messages and phone calls that her parents had sent her. At the same time, the Maheswaran parents appeared on the doorstep of their house.

Steven and Connie stepped out onto the curb as Connie's parents dashed over to them. Steven glanced behind the van. Ruby was still walking down the road, kicking a pebble ahead of her.

Priyanka pulled Connie into a hug and squeezed her tight. "Oh, you're okay, you're okay…You couldn't get a signal, could you?"

"No," Connie sighed. "Sorry. We left the house early to try and beat the storm, but we ran into trouble on the way here."

Doug hummed and looked to Greg. He was shutting the car door behind him. "It wasn't anything bad, was it?"

Greg shrugged and gave Doug a sheepish smile. "Nothing that we couldn't handle."

Priyanka stood up. Running her fingers through Connie's dark hair, she said, "Well, at least you're all okay."

Doug nodded to both Greg and Steven. "Thank you both for taking care of Connie."

Steven slapped a hand over his heart. "With my life!"

Greg chuckled, and he too ran his fingers through Steven's curls. He smiled at the Maheswarans. "Sorry for the trouble. I think Steven and I better go ahead and head home before the storm starts up again."

The smiles dropped from the Maheswarans' faces.

"What?" Doug exclaimed.

"You can't go out there again," said Priyanka. "I can't imagine what would happen if you got caught without anyone around. You could be stranded."

Doug nodded. "It's too dangerous. You should stay with us tonight. The storm should be gone by morning—for now, it's just safe to stay here."

Steven and Greg looked to one another. The Maheswarans definitely had a point. They got lucky that they only crashed the car halfway—and had an alien with the strength of fifty men with them—but it could be worse. They could have spent the night huddled in the back, or crash much worse than before.

They both nodded and smiled at the Maheswarans.

"We really appreciate it," Greg told them.

Steven threw his hands into the air and whooped, "Sleepover!"

Together, he and Connie chanted, "Sleep-o-ver! Sleep-o-ver! Sleep-o-ver!"

Priyanka chuckled. She pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders and pointed over her shoulder. "I'll get you guys some hot drinks."

So Steven and Connie started chanting, "Hot drinks! Hot drinks! Hot drinks!"

Greg again smiled in appreciation to the Maheswarans. He pointed to the back of the van, saying, "Let me just grab some things from the back."

The Maheswarans nodded and turned for the house. Connie and Steven lingered to help Greg, and all three of them rounded the van to the back. Steven tried to hop off the curb, and Connie just barely caught him before he slipped and fell on his rear end.

Greg pulled the back doors open. He paused.

Ruby was standing alone in the back of the van. In her hands, she had blankets, socks, and Greg's sweatpants neatly folded and stacked together. Behind her, all the stuff that had been scattered about in the crash had been cleaned up and rearranged. It even looked a bit cleaner than before.

Ruby held out the stack to Greg.

"I overheard. I got some blankets, and socks. I didn't know if you needed anything else."

Greg took the stuff from her. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ruby cut him off with an "Oh!" She reached over and tugged the cooler to them.

She pulled the lid off and showed Greg the interior. All the water bottles, juice bottles, and the ice pack were neatly arranged in the ice. It looked like she'd even gone through the trouble of straightening the ice cubes.

"I also cleaned this up a bit."

Steven stepped forward and took the cooler. Once again, Greg tried to speak, but Ruby darted to the front. She grabbed the CD box and jogged back to them.

She opened it and held it out for Greg to see. All the cases were set in two straight rows, instead of just haphazardly stacked and tossed like before.

"I put these all in alphabetical order. And, uh…"

She set the box down and gestured around to the rest of the van.

"I just…cleaned up a bit."

Greg looked around at the van, the cooler, the CD box, and the stack of fabric in his hands. "In…what, thirty seconds?"

Ruby smiled, but it was uneasy. "I'm fast. That's why you never…" She snapped a finger at him. "—Beat me at volleyball. Heh…heh…" A bead of sweat dripped down her temple.

Greg just stared at her, surprised, not angry. Ruby did not appreciate the silence, either way. She crumpled under his gaze, slouching forward, one hand holding the other elbow.

"I'm sorry."

She said it in the most quiet, helpless whisper, and still didn't meet his eyes.

Greg paused…and smiled. He chuckled, and Ruby looked at him, surprised.

But he just sighed and nodded to the Maheswaran house. "I doubt you want to spend the night huddled up in here. Come on in."

It was his way of saying 'I forgive you', and Ruby smiled.

She hopped out of the van and landed between Greg and Steven. Once she saw Steven, she paused. Her eyes went to his elbow as if it were mangled and not just bruised.

She opened her mouth, and got the syllable 'sor—' out, but was cut off when Steven pressed a finger to her nose and chirped, "Boop!" Then she just laughed and ruffled his hair. Connie, having been stiff the past few moments, relaxed and laughed with them.

Greg reached into the box closest to him in the van. He pulled out the dark T-shirt with the red letters. As he put it atop his stack of clothes, he winked at Ruby. "You left the other half of my pajamas."

Ruby's gaze flattened on him. Her voice was flat, too, but jokingly so. "Pajamas? _Really_?"

Greg shrugged all too knowingly. "A friend gave it to me. Might as well use it."

Ruby blew another raspberry, and Greg chuckled. They finally shut the van doors and turned for the Maheswaran house. Connie, upset that she wasn't helping, reached inside the cooler and carried a water bottle.

As they all went up the short walkway to the Maheswaran's door, Steven smiled. Greg and Ruby were still joking around, teasing one another. Every now and then, Ruby would get good-naturedly annoyed and puff up at what Greg said.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He pulled up the camera, aimed it at Greg and Ruby, and snapped a picture. He got it just as they were both smiling from ear-to-ear.

Greg stopped just in front of the door and exclaimed, "Oh!" He turned around and told Steven, "Could you run back to the car and get the key?"

"Aye-aye, Captain!"

Steven set the cooler down and dashed back to the van. He crawled in by the passenger's side and reached across for the key.

His fingers wrapped around it, but he paused. Out of simple curiosity, he revved the engine up again, enough for the radio to come back on. He turned it up a bit. He wasn't surprised, but the terrible wailing was still blasting on every channel.

Connie came up behind him. "What's up?"

"Just checking," he said.

His eyes wandered over the buttons on the radio. As he did, a lightbulb lit over his head.

He twisted around and called, "Hey, Dad! Come here!"

Curious, Greg and Ruby both jogged over to the van, Greg setting his things onto the cooler. They walked around to the other side, and Greg leaned in while Ruby stood behind him.

Greg's brows furrowed as he asked, "What is it?"

Steven pointed to the buttons. "Do you think it would work if you messed with the settings a bit?"

Greg hummed, unsure. He moved forward and sat down in the seat, and Ruby stepped a little closer. Steven did the same thing so Connie could hear.

Greg's fingers moved over the buttons with nimble speed. Having been his own music editor for some twenty-plus years, he was quite experienced in working with audio. He turned the treble up and the bass down, then vise-versa. He turned it from FM to AM and back. He twiddled with the volume and worked through the different stations.

After several minutes of then, when Ruby and Connie both crossed their arms out of boredom, Greg sighed. "I don't know, Steven, I don't think it's any use."

Steven blew a raspberry. "Ffffine. I just hope this isn't a permanent thing, because if the Good Time Radio gets blown out, then I'm pretty sure there's going to be an angry mob in front of the radio station like last time and—"

"Wait."

Greg held an ear to the speaker as he continued to carefully fiddle. He moved through the stations decimal by decimal, turned the bass up and down. He switched it to FM, and Steven understood what he was listening to: deep in the sound, below the humming and the wailing, there was something else. An irregular, muffled noise, rising up and down.

Connie heard it, too. "Is that a voice?"

Once more, Greg went to the treble and the bass. He turned one up and the other down. The voice slowly became crisper, clearer, until it was just a hum away from being comprehensible. For the finishing touch, Greg tampered with the mid-range.

They caught the tail-end of the voice stopping, and waiting. The radio clicked three times, like a phone dial. Then—

" _Steven!"_

Steven jumped. His voice was not called be Greg, Ruby, Connie—no one around him now.

It was coming from the radio.

" _Steven! Steven, can you hear me?"_

Steven was already disturbed that the radio was speaking his name.

But he was also disturbed that he recognized the voice.

"Lapis?"

Wherever she was speaking, Lapis sighed. There was a pause, and then her voice was louder, like she was leaning in to speak.

" _Steven, I don't know if you can hear this wherever you are—I'm trying to reach Earth as best as I can—but I have to warn you! I've been trying for so long…Everything on Homeworld is different. It's not what I remember. Everything is new and weird and—and it's all so advanced now! I don't understand anything. I was just going to deal with it and lay low…But Steven…Some Gem here knows who you are. She knows you're on Earth somehow—she knows your name—and she's…she's coming for you. She's coming to Earth to find you and the other Crystal Gems, and she won't be coming alone. She's probably coming straight for the beach. So please, please, find somewhere to hide! Do anything you can, but don't fight them! You and the Crystal Gems won't stand a chance. You won't be able to keep up with their weapons and their power. Just…stay safe. Please. Hide while you still can. I really, really hope you hear this."_

She paused.

" _I'm sorry, Steven. I'm so sorry."_

The message ended, and Greg turned the radio off.

Doug opened the door of his house and poked his head out. Frowning, he stepped out onto the doorstep and called, "What's holding you guys? The hot drinks are turning into not-hot drinks!"

He frowned when he saw everyone's faces. They were all as still as statues, staring at nothing in particular, eyes wide and faces grim.

The only reply he got was Steven giving a quiet "Um…"


	31. The Invasion

" _Steven, I don't know if you can hear this wherever you are—I'm trying to reach Earth as best as I can—but I have to warn you! I've been trying for so long…Everything on Homeworld is different. It's not what I remember. Everything is new and weird and—and it's all so advanced now! I don't understand anything. I was just going to deal with it and lay low…But Steven…Some Gem here knows who you are. She knows you're on Earth somehow—she knows your name—and she's…she's coming for you. She's coming to Earth to find you and the other Crystal Gems, and she won't be coming alone. She's probably coming straight for the beach. So please, please, find somewhere to hide! Do anything you can, but don't fight them! You and the Crystal Gems won't stand a chance. You won't be able to keep up with their weapons and their power. Just…stay safe. Please. Hide while you still can. I really, really hope you hear this."_

The message through the radio cut off in a crackle. It would be followed by five mechanical clicks before starting again, but Steven went ahead and cut it off. Around him, Opal, Sapphire, Ruby, Greg, and Connie stood around the van, Steven sitting in the driver's seat.

Opal's face was frozen with eyes as round as saucers and lips puckered in terror. Sapphire had both of her hands on her chin, and even though her eye was still covered, Steven could see the horror just in her open, quivering lips. Greg was looking between the radio and the Crystal Gems, as if seeking reassurance. Connie did the same, huddled in her coat. Ruby was leaning against the side of her van, head bent and palms on the 'MR. UNIVERSE' logo.

"We were going to tell you guys earlier," said Steven. "But it was snowing so hard, we had to stay the night at Connie's."

It was silent for a long time.

Finally, Opal let out a deep, sharp wheeze, but nothing else. Two of her hands were trembling like she was cold, so the other two held them for comfort.

"So…" Connie cleared her throat. "What do we do?"

Sapphire's immediate answer was "Panic."

Opal quickly rebutted, "No! Don't do that!"

Connie asked, "Should we be worried?"

"Of _course_ you should be worried!" Opal threw her hands into the air. Her voice had reached an octave high enough to crack. "We should all be worried! Don't panic, but be worr—Greg, use your bag."

Greg thrust a hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled brown paper bag. With his skin already slick with sweat and his eyes wide, he took deep breaths in and out of it. Connie gave him a pat on the back while the bag crinkled over and over.

Steven turned to the others. Even he could feel his hands starting to go clammy. "What are they going to do?"

Ruby pushed herself off of the van. Her face was unusually still, but her muscles were tense as she spoke. "They're going to do what they tried to do hundreds of years ago. They're going to try to take over the Earth all over again, but this time, it'll be the four of us. We have no defense, no artillery, our weapons look like sticks compared to _what they'll have_ —!"

Greg breathed out so much the paper bag burst. He just tossed it aside, took out another, and started breathing again.

Opal knelt down to Sapphire. With her fists curled, she asked, "How long do you think it'll be?"

Sapphire went still and held her trembling hands up to her forehead. Opal kept by her side, but did not touch her, as if it would force Sapphire back to the present. Everyone else leaned forward, awaiting a response. You could hear a pin drop.

Sapphire swallowed. "They're already coming. They'll be here soon."

Greg just lied down. Ruby slammed her face hard enough against the van to dent it. Steven watched everyone, lost and confused. Words of comfort bubbled up in his throat, but he wouldn't let them go. He had no idea what they were dealing with.

Ruby turned and pressed her back to the van. She was starting to shake. "We're dead. We're _so_ dead."

Opal forced a smile on her face, one as fake as plastic. "Well, let's look on the bright side!"

Ruby snapped, "What bright side?"

Opal didn't reply. She just kept smiling.

Sapphire turned to Steven and also forced a smile. It looked especially unconvincing on her, and even as she reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders, Steven saw that she was struggling to keep it together. Her small fingers were twitching on his sleeves.

"Opal, Ruby, and I are going to see what we can do."

Ruby walked over to the fallen Greg and knelt beside him. She patted a hand on his back. "You should get all your stuff together. Go to the storage unit if you need to."

Greg didn't respond verbally or physically.

Ruby took a deep breath and stood to her feet. Steven was surprised with how well she was keeping herself in check, but heat was starting to ripple around her shoulders.

She curled her fingers together and told Connie, "Just repeat that to him when he comes to."

Ruby turned away again, and Steven saw her crumble further. She was starting to shake harder, her fingers trembling out of control. Her breathing was becoming ragged, but she struggled to keep it straight. Opal knelt down to her, but did not touch her. She just watched her, and only put a hand on her arm when Ruby nodded.

Steven did not in any way want to be selfish in that moment, especially with how the sight of Ruby falling apart unnerved him, but he felt like he was being ignored. Not like "Hey, I'm here too, comfort me!" but like "Hey! What can I do to help?" Because he knew there was a battle coming, a big battle, but didn't they need to focus and stick together? They should have been discussing strategies…or something.

Sapphire was still watching Steven, and when he looked back at her, that forced smile appeared once again.

He frowned. "What about me?"

"You should go take care of the citizens. Tell them that…"

She trailed off, then gasped as she was lifted into the air. Opal scooped Sapphire and Ruby up by their waists. She held them close, but there was nothing comforting in her voice as she turned away from Steven and talked back over her shoulder. Her face was grim, eyes without their usual light.

"Tell them," she said, "that they need to get ready to go."

Then she took off for the Temple, Ruby and Sapphire in tow, the former looking back over her shoulder at the three of them. Steven was left to watch them shrink down the snowy beach with the words 'Aren't I supposed to be helping you guys' left unspoken in his mouth.

He turned back to Greg and Connie. Greg was starting to relax—just barely; at least he was now lying still. Connie was watching Steven closely. She didn't appear afraid, but she was anxious, waiting for some kind of reassurance. She knew less than he did.

Steven sighed. On the one hand, as a Crystal Gem, he should have been with the others. They were all going to be in this together, so why they had left him behind to do something someone else could have done was beyond him. Maybe he could understand that, but it felt like they were rushing to get away from him. On the other hand, he was the only thing Greg and Connie had to turn to now. They were blind without him.

"Okay," he said. "We're going to need a ride."

Something prodded him from behind. Turning, he was met with wide, dark eyes. Lion chuffed at him.

"Okay, we've got a ride. Dad."

Greg jumped as if frightened, and his chest pumped up and down with his breath. Connie all but slapped a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, but it did little good. Greg was watching Steven like he was about to tell him something awful, and not just asking for his attention. His sunburnt skin was already slick with sweat.

"We're going to need speakers. _The bassy kind._ "

* * *

" _Everyone get to the boardwalk now! It's an emergency! Everyone! Get to the boardwalk!"_

Connie's voice rang through the cold air as she and Steven bounced on Lion's back. They were winding through the ice-slick streets and alleyways, around corners and through crosswalks. Connie had one arm wrapped around Steven and the other hand cupping her mouth. Steven just focused on steering Lion, blinking away the occasional speck of ice in his eyes.

" _Everyone get to the boardwalk! If you don't, you'll regret it! Yes, that was a threat!"_

As they went on, Steven saw some familiar faces responding to Connie's voice. Lars, sweeping snow from the front of the Big Donut, almost got pushed down by Lion as he sped past. He opened his mouth to speak, but hearing Connie's words, instead ducked inside and called for Sadie. The Cool Kids were lounging in the Pizza Jeep on the curb, but when they heard, they all buckled in while Jenny revved the engine. Onion was beating a trash can with a baseball bat. He heard Connie, paused, gave the can one more hit, and took off running.

Fish Stew Pizza locked its doors. The Big Donut turned off its lights. Beach Citywalk Fries shut its stand (much to Peedee's chagrin).

Soon enough, the streets were filled with people rushing to the boardwalk, some holding hands, others murmuring to one another. When the familiar sound of _"May-or Dew-ey! May-or Dew-ey!"_ swelled behind them, the crowd parted to let the Deweymobile through.

When they came to the boardwalk, they found Greg and his van parked with its open end facing them. Greg had speakers set up and wired in, and a microphone ready to use. While fiddling with buttons was usually his forte, his sweaty fingers instead fumbled with them. They crowded around him, huddling in their jackets and rubbing their gloved hands together.

Lars leaned down to Sadie. "Isn't that Steven's Dad?"

Kiki whispered to her sister, "Is he putting on a concert?"

Buck, with a rare smile, gave a quiet cheer. "Go Mr. Universe, the comeback kid!"

Mayor Dewey stepped out of the Deweymobile—paused to wipe a scuff off the hood—and walked with a straight back to Greg. The entire time, he kept a smile on his face and his eyes on the crowd. He looked straight out of a campaign poster, but his voice was low as it bit through his teeth.

" _What's the meaning of this, Mr. Universe?"_ Raising his voice, he called, "I love Beach City!"

Greg tried to fix the speakers and talk at the same time. "I…uh…my son…ehhh—"

"Please part the crowd!"

Everyone did as Steven requested and split apart. Steven and Connie kept their chins high as Lion padded forward, his pink mane and great paws catching a few hums of appreciation. Steven usually wasn't one to get stage fright—he couldn't recall ever knowing the feeling—but with everyone's eyes on him, his fingers gripped Lion's hair a little tighter.

Lion went all the way up to the miniature stage and lied down. Steven and Connie hopped off his back, and Steven took the microphone from his father. He got a bit of feedback at first, and that made everyone wince, but Greg gave him a thumbs-up.

Steven turned to the crowd—jumped when he almost collided with a Cheshire-grinning Mayor Dewey—and held the microphone to his lips.

"People of Beach City," he said. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're here."

It was silent for a long moment. Someone at the very back of the crowd gave a quiet _"Yeah."_

"There's no need to panic—"

Mayor Dewey's eyes bulged at Steven. Steven should have known better—Mayor Dewey always hated three phrases: "There's no need to panic", "It is with a heavy heart…", and "Ocean Town is burning once again."

"—but there is a threat of danger coming to Beach City."

That brought a rise of murmurs from the crowd. Some people checked the weather forecast on their phones. Others offered speculation. Onion threw his arms up to cheer.

Mayor Dewey snatched the microphone from Steven. With pinballs of sweat rolling down his face, he declared, "I'm sure it's nothing of extreme threat!"

His words were supposed to be calming, but it only made Mr. Fryman yell with disbelief, "Does the mayor not know what's going on?"

The microphone was thrust back to Steven's chest. _"Take me out of the spotlight, Universe."_

Steven raised the mic again and cleared his throat. The whispers died down. Connie and Greg stood to the side, winding their hands.

"Let me explain."

He took a deep breath.

"A battalion of warriors from outer space is coming to Beach City!"

He was expecting the long stretch of silence that followed.

He was _not_ expecting the surge of laughter that came afterwards.

People doubled over, tears in their ears, guffawing and giggling and chuckling. Jenny slapped a hand on Sour Cream's back as she practically screamed a laugh. Sadie gave a relieved giggle. Mr. Smiley laughed, too, but he was always laughing. Others were not as amused—Peedee looked back at the fry stand, Lars just closed his eyes and sighed, Kofi checked his watch. There were only three people in the crowd who seemed to genuinely believe him—Nanafua, Ronaldo, and Onion. Nanafua was trying to pull her son back to the restaurant to prepare for the invasion. Ronaldo was forcing his way to the front, screaming about how he knew it, he knew it! Onion was still silently cheering.

Mayor Dewey was also laughing, but it was dry and breathy. "Just a funny joke, everyone! No need to panic, indeed!"

Steven shrunk back from the almost acidic glare the mayor sent him. _"You're killing me, Universe."_

Steven looked back to the crowd and blanched. They were starting to file away, turning their backs on him and wandering off. Sadie was trying to get a tense Lars to laugh it off, Peedee was eager to just get back to work. Buck seemed disappointed for "the comeback kid."

"Guys, wait!" Steven's voice made them stop, but they were still either smiling or glaring at him. "Why don't you believe me?"

Jenny sighed, wiped one last tear from her eye, and smiled. "Steven, it was funny, but we have stuff we need to do!"

"Let him speak!" Ronaldo's voice boomed loud enough to silence everyone. "He's telling the truth!"

Lars cupped his hands around his mouth. His tone wasn't mean, just tired, as he called out, "No offense, Steven, but I seriously doubt that an invasion of aliens is going to happen. Come on, man, we have things to do. It's cold out here."

Steven cleared his throat.

"I am aware that the idea may sound ridiculous. _But…_ I would also like to remind everyone that I just rode a pink lion up here and I live in that giant temple on the beach with red, blue, and purple women—one of which has four arms—who have gemstones in their body, and we've saved this city from actual monsters many times before and have also returned the ocean after it was stolen by another gem-alien who escaped to space."

He was expecting the long silence that followed.

And the panic afterwards didn't really surprise him, either.

The crowd turned into a swarming mass of yelling voices and stamping feet. Sadie tried to comfort a shaking Lars. The Cool Kids all stared wide-eyed at each other. Mr. Fryman was rooted to the spot, but Peedee tried to pull him to the stand, screaming of how it needed to be protected. Ronaldo was yelling something into his phone. Mr. Smiley wasn't smiling anymore. Nanafua and Kofi were arguing about what they would do next, Kiki caught between them. Onion was still considerably pleased. Steven turned to Mayor Dewey for guidance, but he'd fainted.

Jamie, who Steven had not noticed before, cried, "We're all going to die!"

"Worse," countered Ronaldo. "We'll be kidnapped! Placed in a human _zoo_!"

Lars burst out, _"Ronaldo!"_

"What? Better to tell him now than set him up for an emotional clotheslining later."

"Guys, please!" Steven had to call several times before he finally got full attention. Except from Mayor Dewey, who was still unconscious. "The most important thing to do right now is to remain calm."

The same person from before called from the back, _"No!"_

"Okay, that's your choice. But what everyone really _needs_ to do right now is prepare to evacuate. All we know right now is that these invaders are going to be here soon. Anything that you need, you should start packing. In a _calm, orderly_ fashion."

He was pleased with the crowd's acceptance. People were beginning to calm down, taking deep breaths, wiping sweat from brows. Those still afraid just set their jaws and breathed.

Kiki raised a hand.

"Yes?" asked Steven.

Kiki pointed behind him. "What's that up there?"

Steven followed her hand, turning around and looking up at the afternoon sky behind him. At first, he did not see what Kiki did. He just saw a light blue sky, turning pinkish on the horizon, filled with flat, shapeless clouds. A flock of seagulls flew past.

Then he saw it. A little black speck, hardly bigger than a pinhead. It was so hard to see, he had to strain his eyes.

Eventually, he just reached over to Lion and dug a hand into his magical mane. He felt around until he finally pulled out a pair of binoculars. He lifted them up to his eyes and twiddled with the focus. It took him a minute to get it pointed to the dot.

It was green, that he knew first. Neon green and kind of like a misshapen knob in shape. He steadied his hands and looked harder. Then he could see lines and dimension, the weird appendage-like things that sprouted from it.

It was…a giant hand.

Floating in the sky.

Headed for Beach City.

He turned back to the crowd and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"You may now take my statement about preparing in a calm and orderly fashion and disregard it entirely."

He didn't really want it, but the chaos that ensued was necessary.

Steven watched the crowd erupt, screams of distress rising into the air and feet stampeding over the boardwalk. Some people slipped on the slick ice. Yellowtail scooped a delighted Onion into his arms and took off running. Kofi called for Kiki and Jenny. Sadie tried to say something to Lars, but was cut off when her mother swept her up with one arm and took off running. Buck hoisted his father up by the arms and calmly pulled him to the Deweymobile.

Steven wished they wouldn't be so terrified. He and the Crystal Gems would be able to handle this, he knew. He was confident in them. Everyone would just laugh at their panic later.

Steven put the microphone down and went to Connie and Greg. Greg was once again beginning to stress, but he was holding it together now. He was now running for the equipment, grabbing the speakers and the wires and shoving them into the back of the van.

"What do we do?" Connie asked Steven.

Steven turned and barked, _"Lion!"_

Lion, for once unable to find slumber, trotted over obediently. He prodded Steven with his nose, and Steven stroked down his muzzle.

"Take Connie home."

Lion knelt down at once. Although she went to him, swung a leg over his back and climbed on, Connie looked down at Steven with a frown.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked while Lion stood to his paws. "I can stay here. Me and my parents don't live in Beach City—I can stay behind and help you. Like last time."

"This is different—it's between us and them, not you and your family." When she did not seem convinced, he sent her a toothy grin. "We've got this. But Connie needs to take care of Connie right now. And maybe you should help everyone else?"

Connie paused, but Lion had already turned for the street. Connie gripped handfuls of his great mane and turned to Steven one last time.

"I'll see you later," she told him.

Then Lion took off running, and they disappeared from Steven's sight.

Steven turned his focus back to his father. Any order had been forgotten, the speakers and wires now tossed together in a mess in the back of the van. He was trying to wrap the microphone wire around the mic, but his hands were slipping too much to do any good.

"Dad." Greg gave him a quick glance to show his attention, but just went back to his microphone. "I need to get back to the Temple. Come by as quickly as you can."

He took off running down the boardwalk without giving Greg time to react. He heard his name called, walked past the citizens of Beach City still in a state of panic, but all attention was on just getting back to the Temple as quickly as he could. Everything was going to be fine later, he told himself, but right now, he had to focus on the present. There was no time to dilly-dally.

His eyes went to the ship's form as he ran. It was a bit easier to see now, but he didn't know if that was because the sky was becoming lighter or because it was coming closer.

It took a good couple of minutes for the Temple's front to come into view, and even longer to see his Room in its hands. On the deck, Opal had her hands on the railing and her eyes on the sky. Her fingers were stiff and her teeth were grit. Steven hadn't noticed how the wind was picking up, but Opal's ponytail was swaying in the lifting breeze. He couldn't see Sapphire and Ruby anywhere near her.

"Opal!" he called to her. He kept calling as he ran across the beach, then to and up the stairs. "Opal! Opal! Opal! Opal! Opal! Opal! Opal!"

"What-times-eight?" she replied when he finally got up to her. She had to catch him by the shoulders to keep him from barreling into her.

Panting heavily, he lifted a hand to the sky. He wheezed, "There's a ship coming!"

Opal stared at him. She opened her mouth, closed it, then reached down and petted his curls. "Thanks."

Suddenly, everything was shaking.

Steven and Opal fumbled and grabbed hold of one another as the deck trembled and the boards rattled. The shingles on the roof started clacking together. Sand on the beach bounced into the air.

Inside the house, picture frames fell, books hit the floor, bowls in the cabinets tinkled. Terrible sounds, like crackling bursts, made Steven jump. The windows of his Room had shattered all at once, the glass shards sprinkling down to the deck and the sand. The screen door rattled in the frame.

Then it was over all at once. Without thinking, Steven looked back to the sky.

The ship was closer. He could see its shape clearly now. It was like it just took a great, sudden lurch closer to them.

Opal turned to the Room and almost snarled, _"Ruby!"_

Ruby burst through the door—literally, she just ran right through the screen—and onto the deck. "What happened?"

Opal pointed upwards, and Ruby followed.

She took a deep, slow breath. She closed her eyes and leaned back. Her fingers drummed on the railing.

Then she slammed her head down on the wood. It was hard enough to splinter the railing in half, but she gave it no mind, instead just turning to Opal and crying, "What do we do?!"

"We stay calm! We'll need the Laser Light Cannons from the armory, and—" Her eyes fell on Steven. "Steven, when did you get here?"

He knew Opal tended to get a bit more forgetful the antsier she got, so he wasn't surprised. He just replied with a simple but determined, "How can I help?"

Ruby stepped closer to him, shoving past Opal. She almost looked angry, but her voice only held concern when she demanded, "Where's Greg?"

Opal reached down and tapped on Ruby's shoulder. "There he is."

They all looked down to the beach. Greg's van was bouncing over the sand and snow. It was going fast enough to creak and whine with each jump. When it came close enough to the Room, the tires crunched to a stop. Greg threw the car door open and stumbled out, a jacket thrown over his arms and his hair a mess. His eyes were already on Steven.

"Steven!" he called up to him. "What are you doing?"

Steven sighed. No doubt his father was stressing out of his mind at the moment, and he couldn't blame him, but he and the Crystal Gems really needed to get a move on. They would have to make this quick.

"Hold on," he called down to Greg.

He turned to Opal and Ruby. "I'm going to go say goodbye to Dad real quick. He needs to get going."

This was going to hurt, he knew. He hated it when his father was upset and there was nothing he could do, but he had no choice here.

He knew he was going to see Greg again. Once this was all over, he told himself, he'd call Greg when it was safe to come home. It was just going to be a bad storm that would pass.

Opal and Ruby exchanged a look that Steven couldn't put a name to. They opened their mouths, but no words came out. Opal's fingers touched her lips. Steven hesitated to go.

Sapphire finally came to the deck, passing through the hole that Ruby had left in the screen. She was holding Steven's cheeseburger-backpack to her chest. Steven could tell by its swollenness that it was packed tight, though with what, he didn't know.

"I've got it," Sapphire said. "I didn't know what all to get, so I just—" Her head went to the sky. _"Dang it."_

"Oh!" Steven grinned and went to take the backpack from Sapphire. He didn't notice Sapphire's surprise with his presence. "Good idea, Sapphire! I'm going to need some stuff for the battlefield."

He unzipped the first zipper and looked inside. The contents bemused him. There were no emergency items, no first aid kits or flashlights or inflatable rafts. Instead, he saw several of his pink T-shirts and pants, folded into squares and tucked in neatly. Unzipping the next one, he found socks, pajamas, toothbrush and toothpaste, and other toiletries. The next had random junk from his room. The next had books.

He looked at Sapphire, but she wasn't looking at him. Instead, all of the Crystal Gems were looking at one another. Steven immediately knew what kind of look it was.

"Why are you giving each other the 'we've got to tell him' look?" he asked.

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. Glaring a hole into the boards of the deck, she just mumbled, "Not it."

Sapphire said nothing. Somberly.

Down on the sand, Greg zipped his jacket up. He called with hesitation, "Steven…Buddy, I don't think—"

Opal held up a hand, not to silence him, but to give him reassurance. Greg nodded and just leaned back against the van. It only confused and worried Steven more.

Opal took a deep breath and knelt down to him. Steven awaited a hand on his shoulder, a sad smile, a soft voice. The usual, gentle delivery of words as if to keep from hurting him. Instead, Opal's stance was all-business, a hard frown and two arms over her knee. When she spoke, her tone was clipped and precise.

"Steven, I'm not going to tell you this like you're a child. I'm just going to tell you. You need to go with Greg and the others. I know you might think we're just trying to get rid of you. I know you want to stay here and be the Crystal Gem you are. But I need you to think reasonably, Steven. This is going to be a big battle, bigger than anything we've ever dealt with before. You have come such a long way…but you're not there yet. This isn't about undermining you or treating you like you're some reckless, delicate thing we have to protect. If you stay here, you're just going to be in danger. It's just fact."

Steven could not speak for a long time. He was conflicted because…he wasn't. He had no argument this time. No amount of determination or 'But I'm a Crystal Gem, too!' was going to change the fact that he simply wasn't supposed to do this. Even in the off chance that he could somehow manage to summon his shield, something he hasn't done since his encounter with Lapis, then what? He would just be there, doing nothing. He'd be deadweight. He wasn't an advantage or a disadvantage.

He wanted so badly to insist that he stay, but he had nothing.

He held his chin high. "You guys can handle this."

Opal smiled at last, but there was not even a hint of joy in it. "We can handle this."

That was all he needed to hear. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Opal's waist and resting his head against her shoulder. Her arms wrapped around him, squeezing him tightly against him and not letting go for a long time. When she finally pulled back, she pressed a kiss to his head, smoothing his curls back from his forehead.

He went to Sapphire, who all but threw herself onto him almost before he had his arms up. He ran a hand down her hair to try and comfort her, but it just made her squeeze him tighter. They pulled back, and Steven saw with a tug in his heart the streak of tears running down her face. She wiped it away with the back of her glove, but the kiss she pressed to his cheek was still wet.

The hug between him and Ruby was not so tight, more like they were just holding each other in their arms for a minute. When she pulled back, Ruby did something she'd never done before—she pressed her forehead to Steven's and just closed her eyes. Steven didn't question it. He just did the same thing.

Finally, Steven picked up his cheeseburger backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and walked down the stairs. He gave his backpack to Greg, who took a second to run a hand through his curls, and let him tuck it into the back of the van.

While he walked to the passenger's side, he paused and looked up at the deck. The Crystal Gems were all at the railing, watching him. Ruby was the only one waving.

He waved back, sending one last smile. "See you later, alligator!"

Opal smiled, but said nothing. Ruby just kept waving. Sapphire gave a soft, short "Goodbye."

With that, Steven climbed inside the van, buckled up, and watched the Gems shrink in the rearview mirror.

* * *

In about ten minutes, Steven and Greg were driving in the stream of cars out of the town. It was lucky that it wasn't moving at a snail's pace, but it wasn't a quick drive, either. Some cars had luggage piled up to their windows, others had things strapped over the roof. Steven could not tell who had already left and who was still in town.

Overall, the scene just gave Steven an eerie chill. Beach City was going to be a ghost town soon, the citizens going out in one great funeral procession, it seemed. Not at all helping was that when he looked in the rearview mirror, he could still see the hand, frozen in the sky as if waiting. Greg was all too aware of it, as he kept looking in the mirror every other second. His clammy fingers left prints on the steering wheel.

The _'You are Now Leaving Beach City'_ sign passed. Steven sighed and leaned back in his seat.

His phone vibrated, and he answered without looking at the name. "Hallo?"

" _Steven?"_

"Connie! Are you still at home?"

" _Yeah. I told Dad we were safe here, but he's still bordering up the windows right now. Where are you?"_

"Evacuating. The line is crazy long."

Steven paused, and Connie didn't reply. Mayor Dewey, once he regained consciousness, had advised through the speakers of the Deweymobile that the town stick together until further notice. Things would only get hectic if everyone was left to flee without advisory, without any way of knowing when it was safe to return.

"So I guess I won't be seeing you tonight?" Steven continued.

" _No. I don't know when."_ She paused again. _"This is really weird."_

"I know."

" _Are you scared?"_

"What? No! The Crystal Gems have this all under control. We'll all be back in town by tomorrow, just you watch."

Greg looked over to him, but Steven didn't notice.

" _Alright…I trust you."_

"Good. Have faith in ya boy."

Connie chuckled, but it was tired and quiet. There was a pause.

" _My phone is about to run out of battery. I'll call you back as soon as I get it charged again, okay?"_

"Okay! See you—"

The line cut off.

"—later."

Steven tucked his phone back into his pocket.

For a while, he and Greg just rode in the car, watching the scenery pass and the line proceed. Steven tried once or twice to get Greg into a casual conversation to ease his nerves, but was of no use. He tried turning on the radio, but the second Lapis's voice came through, Steven shut it back off. He didn't bother reaching into the CD box Ruby had organized just the day before.

Just the day before…

His eyelids began to weigh down. He tried to fight it off at first, but then figured—why not?

So he let himself surrender to sleep.

* * *

"Steven."

Steven jolted awake, seatbelt constricted across his chest. The first thing he saw was his father's face, considerably calmer but still concerned.

"Come on," he told him. "We've got a place to stay for tonight."

Biting back a yawn, Steven unbuckled himself and looked to the windows. The hand was nowhere to be seen in the clouds anymore. Steven didn't know how much time had passed since he fell asleep, but the once-pink sky was now a flat and dark. The stars had not appeared yet. Everything outside was in a bluish twilight glow.

He stepped out of the van and looked around while Greg pulled out his suitcase and Steven's backpack. Their car was just one in many in the parking lot of some two-story hotel Steven didn't recognize. The whole building was light blue, the roof purple and the windows shaped like portholes. The sign towered above it deemed it _'The Clam Sham—Swimming Pool (Closed for the season), Moderately-Paced Wireless Internet, and Free Hot Breakfast for Only $5!'_

The parking lot was filled with the vehicles of Beach City citizens, the Deweymobile included. Even still, more cars were coming in.

The walk inside was vague, as Steven was still working off his slumber. He was still wiping the sleep from his eyes as they came to the lobby. The place reeked of salt in a shabby attempt to imitate a seaside breeze. Somewhere, bouncy reggae music was blasting. Steven did not know why, but for some reason, the tiles of the floor were sticky and squelched off his sneakers as he walked. The employee behind the reception desk, dressed up in a gaudy sailor's suit made of purple glitter and navy-blue chiffon, hardly moved a muscle in his face as he spoke to them.

"Welcome to the Clam Sham," he droned. "'We are not a sham, it's just a name.' I assume you're with the Beach City party?" Greg nodded. "Due to lack of space, it is requested that you share rooms with other residents. How many are in your group?"

Steven held up two fingers. The receptionist clicked a few keys on the computer.

"Room 203 with the Deweys should house you two. Here's a key card."

He reached behind the counter and took out a little plastic card, handing it to Greg. Greg nudged Steven and pointed to the elevator. As they walked away, the receptionist called in a monotone, "Take a luggage cart if you need—only a dollar per minute used."

The two of them took the short ride in the elevator to the second story, roamed down the halls for a bit, until they finally got to Room 203. It took a minute, but the lock finally accepted the card, and Greg pushed the door open.

The room was no less flashy than the rest of the hotel. The carpet was lime green and matched the little anchors and buoys on the wallpaper. There was one king-sized bed with a comforter decorated with little ocean waves and a little purple couch with a littler white table. There was a single set of drawers with seashell-shaped knobs and a flat-screen television on top. Again, the pungent smell of salt filled the air.

Buck Dewey was lying on the bed, arms folded behind his back and legs crossed. He was as calm as ever, it seemed. It was a polar image of his father, who had taken off his tweed jacket and tie. Steven could see the sweat-stains around his shirt collar and in his armpits. The poor man had two cellphones in either hand and was going from one to the other. He was blabbering a mile a minute.

"Yes, Mr. Pizza, I'm aware that you are upset and I'm working on sorting out the situation." He ended the call on one phone and went to the other. "Hello, Miss Miller, I promise you job at the Beach City Post Office has not in any way been compromised." The other phone started ringing, and he answered, "Yes?...No, Ronaldo, I am in no mood for an interview!"

If he noticed Greg and Steven enter, he didn't do anything. Buck did, though, and sent them a little wave. "I see you will be our roommates this evening."

"Guess so," Greg said. He reached for the closet door, but finding the tiny space already packed, he just sighed and told Steven, "Go set your stuff down near the couch."

Steven did so, placing his cheeseburger-backpack against the wall. He noticed now that there were four of them, but only one bed. Fortunately, when he stripped the stiff cushions away from the couch, he found the wire mesh folded inside.

"Here, Dad, it's a pull-out."

He pulled on the handle and unfolded the metal frame out of the couch with a great deal of creaking. Confusing him, though, it was just that—the frame and nothing else.

Greg, too, frowned at the sight. "Where's the mattress?"

"Here."

Buck grabbed a sheet of paper off of the nightstand and passed it to Steven, who passed it to Greg. It was a long list of items, so long that Steven could read some of it on the side Greg wasn't reading.

"It's alphabetically listed," Buck told him.

Bemused, Greg searched down the list. 'Mattress' was the first item under the 'M's. He read aloud, "'Mattress for Pull-Out Couch—$45 dollars a night." His eyes bulged, and he almost dropped the list. Even Steven was shocked with how pricey it was. "Good criminy!"

"Um…" Steven thrust a hand down into his pants pocket. Pulling it back out, a few coins fell to the floor as he held out the crumpled bills in his palm. "I've got sixteen dollars and some change. And lint. And some gum wrappers."

"I think I can handle it," Greg sighed. "I managed to get our emergency cash before we left. We're going to need pillows and blankets, too."

Steven leaned over the paper. He pointed to the two items beneath in the 'E's. "'Extra Pillows—$10 apiece.' 'Extra Blankets—$5 a sheet.'"

Greg further read, "'Extra Toiletries—$1 per bottle.' 'Extra Towels—$3 apiece.' 'Wireless Internet—$10 an hour.'" He groaned. "'Clam Sham' is _not_ just a name."

"Dad, be careful."

Steven pointed to an item on the back of the list. Flipping it over, Greg read, "'Notice: Any audible comments regarding the hotel's name and the pricings may be charged a negativity fee'. Okay, I'm putting the list down now."

He just threw it aside and sat down on the edge of the pull-out frame. At the same time, Buck stood to his feet, walking past them. Instead of ducking into the bathroom, however, he reached for the door handle.

"Where ya goin'?" Steven asked.

"I'm going to go check up on my friends," Buck replied. He readjusted his visor. "Going to see if they're holding up okay."

He left without another word. Steven only then realized that yes, almost the whole town was in this hotel, crammed together and waiting for some sign that everything was going to be okay. Steven knew it was, but he had no way to prove that besides a positive attitude. It may help to give them all a visit…although he knew with some sadness that Connie was not going to be one of them.

He asked his father, "Is it okay if I go see everyone, too?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, go ahead, sport. I'll see what all we need."

Steven nodded, and with that, he left his father and the babbling Bill Dewey in search of his friends.

He had overheard from Mayor Dewey's rambling that the Beach City party was all kind of clustered together on the second floor. So once he shut the door behind him, he just walked straight across the hall and knocked on 204.

It took a second, but the door opened a moment later. Barb Miller, Sadie's mother whom Steven had seen before but had never spoken to, already had her hair in curlers and a green spa mask slathered over her face. Those, coupled with the fuzzy bathrobe and slippers she was wearing with her pajamas, made it seem like she was just at home in this mess.

"Universe-boy!" She beamed at him like an old friend. "What brings you to our doorstep?"

"Just wonderin' how you guys are holding up."

"Well, aren't you just a peach?" She ruffled his locks enough to puff them up around his head. She stepped aside for him. "Come on in, we're happy to have you."

Steven did so and saw the other people in the room. For once, there were people that Steven did not recognize—a man and a woman, maybe in their forties.

The woman was tall and lanky, her skin tan and her ginger hair a puffy mess that ran down her back. Steven could tell just by looking at her that she was a sunny type. She was wearing a sweater covered in pawprints and neon green suspenders with little bows where they met her pants. Her face was long but pretty, and she had laugh lines in her cheeks. She had circular glasses that only went across her nose, somehow.

The man was shorter, tanner, dark-haired, and somewhat balding. He had a smart pair of glasses across his eyes to match his sweater vest. Even so, he did not appear to be an uptight man, and in fact had a sort of permanent, wide-eyed curious look. He looked very stout compared to the gangly woman.

The woman was unfolding an absolute mountain of socks from her bag onto one of the beds. With each one, she murmured, "Pink, blue, polka dots, stripes, double stripes, triple stripes, pink and blue polka dots over stripes…I think I've got everything. Wait!"

She dove into the bag, searching frantically, and only stopped when the man held out a fuzzy ball to her.

"I've got the fuzzy ones," he assured her.

She breathed a great sigh of relief and took them from him as she bent down to kiss his forehead. "You're a lifesaver."

Steven looked at the other bed. Sadie and Lars were sitting across from one another, Sadie cross-legged, Lars lying on his side with his head propped up on his hand. Both were already in their pajamas—T-shirts, shorts, sweatpants. Sadie had her fluffy blonde hair in a ponytail. Both were holding a small deck of cards in their hands and had a little pile at their sides.

Sadie counted, "One…two…three…"

She and Lars both set down a card at the same time. Lars had three diamonds, Sadie a queen of hearts.

Sadie laughed and pulled the pair of cards to her pile. "More for me."

Lars just grunted, not so much out of rudeness than what seemed to just be pure boredom. He was the first to notice their new guest, and gave a lazy but casual "Hey, Steven."

"Hey-Ho, Friend-O's. What cha' doing?"

"Playing a game of Battle," Sadie replied.

While Steven watched, they put down two more pairs, Sadie winning one, Lars winning the other. When the last one came down, Sadie winning with one last ace, Sadie whooped and threw her arms into the air. Lars sighed, and stretched his arms over his head.

"Won again!" cheered Sadie.

A hand came slapping down on her back, knocking the wind out of her. Barb threw an arm around her daughter's neck, almost choking her, while she boasted to Lars, "My daughter wins at everything, I tell you! Now scooch over. I want to play the victor."

She all but shoved Lars aside to take his place. Lars ended up pushing himself against the headboard of his bed, taking up his phone and typing away at it. Even so, Steven saw some kind of tremble in him, like he was trying to stay calm even if he really wasn't. It was kind of like how Steven got whenever there were really bad storms in Beach City, kind of shaking like he was cold.

"You okay?" Steven asked. He sat cross-legged on the floor and gave Lars the best puppy-dog eyes he could manage. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lars answered with a simple "No, thank you."

"Everything's going to be okay, Lars. I promise."

"Okay. Good. I'm not scared."

"Lars, honey?"

The way the woman called to him, Steven only just now realized that he was looking at Lars' parents, the Barrigas. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before, because Lars was almost the spitting image of his mother. They were both staring at Lars with worry etched in their features, the way any parent would when their child was distressed.

"You okay?" his father asked.

His mother reached into her bag once more and took out a little baggie. They were filled with what looked like little cookies, donut-shaped with petals on the edges. They kind of looked like doilies to Steven.

"Would some rosquillos calm you down?" his mother suggested.

"N—" Lars paused. He looked up from his phone. "Actually, yeah. Thanks."

His mother tossed the baggie over to him. It actually did seem to calm him down just a bit, as Steven saw the tension in his shoulders relax as he bit into one. Lars glanced up at him, then handed the baggie out while his eyes were on his phone. Steven took a small cookie and bit into it. It was sweet, crisp, and almost seemed to melt in his mouth. He could see how it helped.

Steven looked over the room. All in all, the two families seemed well in comfort. Lars' parents murmured and chuckled at one another, during which Steven overheard them address one another as "Martha" and "Dante". Barb and Sadie continued with their intense game of Battle. At least being away from the action in Beach City calmed them down.

Still, he asked, "Are you guys doing okay? With the invasion and whatnot, I mean."

"Hm?" Barb was so focused on her cards she almost didn't hear him. "Oh, well…It is what it is."

Sadie murmured, "It's scary, though…I just want it to be over soon."

Martha gave an enthusiastic nod. "Got that right. I just want to go back home."

Dante gave his wife's hand a reassuring squeeze. "There's really nothing we can do now but hope."

Steven turned to Lars for his comment, but he just shrugged.

When no other conversation arose, Steven stood to his feet. Stretching his arms out, he announced, "I'm going to go check on the others."

As he went to the door, they all voiced their farewells. Barb called a "goodbye" over her shoulder, Sadie waved him off. Lars gave a flick of a wave to him, while his parents both gave enthusiastic see-you-laters. Steven shut the door just as Barb beat Sadie in their game and gave a great cry of victory.

He crossed the hallway once again to 205. He knocked, and although the door did not open, he did get a muffled "Come in!" from the other side.

Steven pushed the door open and stepped in. The room was very much like the one he had just come from, two beds, a pullout couch, but also with a single mattress on the floor. It was considerably larger than Steven's room like that, but still pretty crammed for what it was. Though that may have had to do with the fact that, much like the other room, there were five people inside.

The Frymans and the Pizzas had been coupled together for the evening. The Pizzas were on the farthest side. Nanafua was sitting on the bed, knitting something thick and soft with needles and a ball of yarn. She was humming a light little tune to herself. The Frymans had the other half. Peedee was on the pullout bed, his head in his hands. Ronaldo was on the mattress, typing something into his phone.

Kofi and Mr. Fryman were conversing in heated, rising voices. Steven caught the midst of it as he came in and shut the door behind him.

"We're going to have to think reasonably," Mr. Fryman was saying. "We have to map it out."

"I say we just do like we already did," Kofi replied. He was waving his arms about wildly. "You over here, me over there. We can't be seen at the same time, otherwise people will be pressured to choose."

"That may not be an option! We have to prepare for the worst!"

Steven side-stepped past them to Nanafua. She just smiled at Steven as he approached, and kept knitting whatever it was in her lap. She was utterly unfazed by the argument consuming the room, even as it was going on right next to her.

"What are they arguing about?" Steven asked.

"Future plans," she answered. "When we get to a new town, we have to figure out where we're going to see up our new restaurants."

Mr. Fryman continued, "We can't just assume wherever we go is going to have enough room for that. What if we end up having to open side-by-side?"

Kofi replied with disgust, "Absolutely not! I won't have it!"

Nanafua tutted. Behind her spectacles, she rolled her eyes. "It's all about business mumbo-jumbo to them. They never have fun."

"New town?" Steven parroted. Nanafua nodded, and Steven just laughed. "We're not going to have to go to a new town! This will all be over before we know it."

"Hm. Well, until 'before we know it'—"

She set the needles aside and lifted her work over her head. Stretching the soft yarn down her neck and around her face, Steven saw that she had knitted herself a knight's helmet. It even had a movable face-guard.

"—I'm going to keep making armor."

Steven laughed again. Leave it to Nanafua to keep his spirits up. "You're not going to need armor, either, Nanafua."

"How do you know?"

"Because I trust the Crystal Gems to take care of it."

"'Trust' isn't going to keep your abdomen from getting pierced by a spearhead."

Steven just snapped his jaw shut after that. He left Nanafua to her armor-knitting and stepped past Kofi and Mr. Fryman to the two remaining people in the room. Peedee still had not taken his face from behind his palms. He was still wearing his sneakers and winter jacket. Steven would have thought he'd fallen asleep like that if he couldn't see Peedee's eyes, lazily blinking up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Peeds. How're you doing?"

"About as good as I look," came his reply in a voice as dead as a corpse. His gaze slid over to Steven. "How do I look?"

"Like a melted ice cream cone."

"Sounds about right."

From his mattress, Ronaldo sighed, though not so unkindly. He seemed just as tired as everyone else did, if not even more so. He continued typing away at his phone as he told his younger brother, "We're going to set up a new stand, Peedee. It'll all be fine."

"I don't _want_ a new stand. And it's _not_ going to be fine."

"Yes, it is." Steven's reassurance seemed to fall on deaf ears, but he still insisted, "I promise."

Promising did Peedee no comfort, and he continued to stare up at the water-stained ceiling with bitter exhaustion. Steven felt that any further conversation would just upset him, so he moved on to Ronaldo. He gave Steven a nod of acknowledgment as he knelt down across from him. Ronaldo's typing, Steven noticed, did not have its usual furious speed. It was actually almost morose, how slow he was. Also bemusing was Ronaldo's backpack, stuffed into the corner. It was usually bulging full of papers and folders, but now it was almost limp.

"Making new theories?"

"Nope. I don't do any of that stuff when there's an emergency. I'm just making a farewell post to my blog, in case I don't get to come back to it."

It threw Steven off-guard. Given, Ronaldo had calmed down some since their camping trip, accepting that his life did not revolve around KBCW. At the same time, it was still his passion, and hearing him shut it down was so…un-Ronaldo of him. It would be like if Greg gave up on playing the guitar, or if Connie decided not to read anymore.

"Well…Tell your followers I said 'see you later'."

Ronaldo typed aloud, "'By the way, Steven says 'see you later'.' And…posted."

With one final press of a button, Ronaldo dropped his phone.

Steven looked over the room, at Kofi and Mr. Fryman's bickering and Nanafua's knitting and Peedee's brooding and Ronaldo's surrendering. It was quite the opposite of the Barrigas and the Millers. He supposed everyone dealt with stress in different ways. That didn't mean he didn't want to give them all peace of mind, but all to do now was wait. Then they could all laugh this off like it was just a little blip in the past, a holiday memory.

While he looked around the room, he then noticed that one of the beds was empty, even though there was luggage set beside it.

"Where are Kiki and Jenny?"

Ronaldo had been nodding off to sleep, and he grumbled, "Room 208, I think…"

"Alright. Well, I'll leave you all be."

The only person who bid him farewell as he left was Nanafua. "If you want some armor, you know where to go!"

He crossed over to 208, but before his knuckles even touched the door, it was opened for him. Buck Dewey's visor glinted the knowing way it always did, and although he didn't smile, his monotone words were friendly.

"I was going to go find you, Steve-friend. Come on in."

He stepped aside and held the door open for Steven, who complimented Buck with a "Thank you, Buck-friend!"

This room was identical to the Fryman-Pizza room, down to the tacky painting of the sailboat on the far wall. It was even more crammed, though, with seven people in total. Luggage littered a good part of the room. Someone else was in the bathroom, but the door was locked, and all Steven heard was the running water from the shower. Whoever it was, they had steam peeking through the cracks.

In the room, there were two adults, a child, and four teenagers. The adults were seated on the farthest bed. Steven recognized one of them—Yellowtail the fisherman, still dressed in his yellow raincoat and boots, but with his great round hat laid out on the seashell-print comforter. The other adult, a woman, Steven just assumed was Yellowtail's wife and Sour Cream and Onion's mother. She was slender and a good foot taller than her husband. Her hair was a few shades lighter than her husband's, almost styled into a bowl cut, but it formed a fluffy peak at the very top of her head. Her face was wrinkled with crow's feet and laugh lines, but there was some youthful spirit still caught in her features.

The two of them were poring over a great array of sheets and folders. Apart from one or two handwritten papers, they all looked very official. Some had stamps at their headers.

The woman's eyes did a slow onceover of the papers. Finally, leaning back against the pillows, she said, "Alright. I have _no_ idea what any of this mumbo-jumbo means—like, I know it's important and we need them, but I don't know what they mean— _but…"_

She grabbed one of the sheets and held it up.

"This is your fishing permit."

Yellowtail took it and held it to his heart like his firstborn son. He whimpered something in that weird, gibberish language he had, and Steven saw tears shimmering in his eyes. Steven could only guess that Yellowtail's boat was still in Beach City's bay. He didn't see anything carrying it in the parking lot, so they must not have had time to hitch it up and go.

The woman leaned forward, planting a kiss on her husband's balding head, and wrapped her arms around him. He buried his face into her neck, the ends of his beard dusting over her thighs. She murmured words of comfort to him. At least, Steven guessed she did, because she was apparently just as fluent in that gibberish language as her husband.

Their conversation seemed a serious one, so Steven decided not to approach him and instead just focus on the others. The Cool Kids were sitting on the couch. It was so small they were all pressed thigh-to-thigh, but they didn't seem to mind. At their feet, Kiki and Onion were across from one another on the floor. They were both on their bellies and scribbling on sheets of paper. A pack of crayons were scattered between them.

Something started beeping. Sour Cream picked his phone up from his lap, stopped the alarm, and announced, "Time's up."

Kiki and Onion set their crayons down and held their papers up. They had both drawn pictures of alligators. Kiki's was very good, bold-lined and colorful, with big eyes and a cute smile. It wouldn't look out-of-place in a Saturday morning cartoon. But it might have been unfair to compare it to Onion's, as his was _disturbingly_ realistic. With just wax crayons, the creature seemed ready to burst off of the paper and snap its jaws at everyone. He even managed to capture moisture in the alligator's scales.

The Cool Kids looked from picture to picture, pursing lips and nodding heads.

At last, Buck declared, "Onion."

Jenny hummed. "It seems kind of unfair with the different directions they took…but I'll say Onion."

"That's two out of three," stated Sour Cream. "Onion wins."

Kiki and the others gave some polite applause, but Onion just wadded his masterpiece into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder like it was a dirty napkin.

Kiki asked, "Do I get some kind of penalty?"

Onion reached over and took her alligator from beneath her. Before anyone could react, he pulled a lighter out of his pocket, held it to the paper, and watched it instantly combust into flames. Kiki and Jenny both jumped back, Buck just blinked, and Sour Cream just went to wafting the smoke so that it scattered into nothing.

"Careful, Onion," he sighed to his younger brother. "You'll set off the fire alarm."

"No, he won't." Everyone looked at Buck as he explained, "Fire alarm is fifty dollars a night."

Jenny just shook her head, looked at Steven, and gave him a big grin. She waved him over. "Come on, Steven. We need another contestant."

He did as told, stepping over Kiki's legs and kneeling between her and Onion. All three of them grabbed sheets of paper (Onion paused a second to dust away the ashes from the previous round) and looked at the Cool Kids for instruction.

Jenny puffed her cheeks out and let the air rumble from her lips. "Ahhh…Draw a car."

The three contestants went to work while Sour Cream set the timer. Steven drew a big rectangle first, scribbled donuts for the tires, and then paused for a good bit while he tried to remember what on earth a car looked like.

He went into a multi-tasking stasis then, still working on his picture while asking the others, "So…are you guys doing okay with everything?"

Sour Cream sighed. "I guess I'm doing okay, but I just want to go home. It's weird sharing a room with my whole family. And the mailman."

At that exact moment, the bathroom door opened, and with it came a great cloud of steam that wafted out onto the floor. Steven felt the damp heat settle over him.

Jamie, one of Beach City's two residential mailmen, leaned out of the doorway with his skin damp and his head wrapped in a fluffy white towel. It almost made him look like an ice cream cone.

"Does anyone have any more shampoo or conditioner?" he asked. "There's some in here, but the bottles are tiny and half-empty."

Sour Cream asked, "If you haven't been washing your hair, why have you been in there for the past hour?"

"Well…I ran a hot bath. But then I got sidetracked staring into the mirror and reflecting on my life choices."

Sour Cream considered that. He leaned back. "I can respect that."

While he colored in the windows of the car—they looked a little too square, but he really had to guess there—Steven asked, "You doing okay, Jamie?"

"Oh, I'm fine. My home is about to be ravaged by merciless intruders who will likely burn the city to forgotten ashes and use the charred bones of the houses to build their spires and decimate the fauna until there's nothing left of green while I'm stuck in a dismal residence and will likely continue to be stuck in dismal residences until I forgot what the word 'home' means in my grieving madness…But I'm fine."

He slowly closed the door. "I'm going to go take a bath."

Once the door was shut, Jenny sighed. She drew her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her knees, and said in a melancholy voice that was very unlike her, "I really miss home, too. I wasn't able to get everything when we left. I left my phone charger, half of my clothes, my memory box…"

Kiki, too, gave a somber sigh. The hand coloring her hoodless car slowed down as she mumbled, "We had to leave the Ghana flag behind, too. The one Nanafua made? I told her we got it, but only to calm her down."

Buck readjusted his visor. Steven still couldn't quite tell what he was feeling—Buck could be harder to read than Sapphire sometimes. "There's nothing we can do, but as long as we stay calm and don't panic, we'll be fine. We're in a poor place right now. We're all stressed. I'm stressed. Dad's stressed. But if we get into bad moods, it's just going to make things worse. So we should all keep our heads up and look to the future. Then things may get better."

No one replied to that, instead just giving silent and respecting nods. Though they didn't perk up any—Onion actually seemed fairly mellow—no more complaints were voiced. It was an improvement, Steven guessed, but not much at all.

The timer on Sour Cream's phone went off, and the three contestants dropped their crayons to hold up their pieces. Kiki had made some kind of hoodless Ferrari type of car, and although there wasn't much detail, the anatomy was pretty accurate. Steven's car was supposed to be a van, but it looked more like a box with wheels. At least the color choice was good. Once again, Onion had gone above and beyond with detail, shading, and color. It was a giant monster truck with wheels as big as the actual car.

Jenny sighed. "Okay, we've got to make some rules. Are we going for photorealism, cartoonish, or abstract? We can't compare apples and oranges."

Before any of the judges could give their answers, Steven felt his phone go off in his pants pocket and pulled it out. It was a message from Greg.

 _ **Ordrd pizza. Should be n front of hotel—can u go n get it? If they come in its an extra ten dollars.**_

"I'm pulling out of the contest," Steven announced. He crumpled up his paper and tossed into the nearby garbage can. "I'll see you guys later."

Standing to his feet, he gave the group a hesitant smile. "Keep your heads up!"

That got him a few small smiles in turn and a nod of approval from Buck. Neither of Sour Cream's parents acknowledged him go, but on the other side of the bathroom door, he heard Jamie call out a forlorn "Fare thee well." The kids would have given him full goodbyes if Onion had not pulled out his lighter again, making everyone jump up to stop him.

He left, jogged to the elevator, and tapped his foot while he waited for the red '1' to appear on the little screen in the corner. The elevator was oddly slow, he noticed, and it kind of dropped every now and then. He was going to take the stairs next time, he decided.

He still didn't know what time it was, but it was truly dark when he stepped outside. Stars were beginning to peek out through the clouds. He was instantly hit with the cold wind, and he regretted leaving his jacket in the room.

"Steven!"

He jumped, but it was just Mr. Smiley. He was standing beside his car, a somewhat beat-up minivan, with two suitcases in his hands. He was smiling once again, but it was pressed on like a sticker. There was some annoyance lying in his face. It was a face that made Steven want to ask him, _Why do you bother smiling all the time?_

"Could you please get your pet off my car?"

He had noticed before, of course, but Lion was lying down atop Mr. Smiley's van. He was either fast asleep or pretending to be. His heart-shaped nose puffed out white steam in the cold.

Seeing him made Steven just a little bit happier. He had assumed that Lion would just wander off once he brought Connie home. At least, if they had to move further out come the next day, Lion would be with them.

"Lion," he called out to him. It was a happy call, but then he lowered his voice into a stern tone. "Get down from there. Come on, get down! You're being rude!"

Lion didn't budge an inch.

"Ah, well." Mr. Smiley just spun on his heel and marched to the hotel doors. He seemed to just want to get inside as soon as possible. "Let him freeze! No sweat off my back."

The moment the doors slid shut after Mr. Smiley, Steven heard tires squealing. A small white and green car, the paint clean but the bumpers rusted silver and brown like patchwork, all but barreled into the parking lot and in front of the hotel doors. There wasn't even a logo on it, just the word _'PIZZA'_ on the doors. The exhaust was popping out foul black clouds.

The car slammed so hard on the brakes that Steven wouldn't be surprised if the driver broke his neck. The window facing Steven was down, but all to be seen inside was shadow. It was very unnerving, especially when a pizza box was just pushed out and hit the ground like a letter through a mail slot.

A voice from inside the car grumbled, "Just throw the bills."

Steven just had to assume the price. He took out a ten, folded it, and Frisbee-threw it through the window. With that, the car just squealed away and blazed down the road.

"That was probably the most unsettling experience I've ever had."

He picked up the box, and as he turned for the doors, called up to Lion, "Please respect Mr. Smiley's property."

Lion grumbled.

* * *

When Steven got back to the hotel room, he was almost shoved against the wall by Mayor Dewey. The poor man was missing his tie, his jacket, his shoes, and his mind. He was leaving puddles of sweat in his wake. He still had two phones in his hands.

"No, I do _not_ want to take a survey," he was crying into one phone. Into the other, he screamed, _"Leave me a-LONE!_ Yes, Grandma, I love you too, I'm sorry…"

He slammed the door behind him and almost in Steven's face.

Stepping in, Steven saw that Greg had already gotten the mattress and blankets for the pullout bed. He'd taken off his shoes and was now leaning back against the back of the couch, legs splayed over the mattress. It looked uncomfortable. The mattress was about as thick as an encyclopedia.

Seeing his son, Greg smiled and set aside the box in his hands. Steven recognized it as the locked one that they kept their emergency cash in, though how much they had was beyond him. He just hoped it was enough so Greg wouldn't worry.

Steven threw himself onto the bed—the frame was so flimsy he actually felt his hip hit the floor—with the pizza box. It was pretty greasy, the crust spotted black, and the cheese a bit too brown in some places…but man if Steven wasn't just starving by this point. He took a slice from the pepperoni half, Greg took one from the Hawaiian half, and they touched them together like glasses.

"So," Greg said through a mouthful, "how's everyone doing?"

Steven picked off a pepperoni that had been burnt to a crisp and replied, "Overall, just kind of stressed, I think."

"Understandable."

"Also maybe scared."

"Also understandable."

"I wish I could prove to them that we shouldn't be worried."

"Well…" Greg shrugged. "Sometimes you just have to let people be worried. It's how they cope with things."

"I know. But, there's really nothing to worry about."

Greg frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The Gems are going to take care of it, I mean. They'll handle it by the end of the week, probably. And maybe Peridot will come to earth and see how good it is, and she'll leave it alone. The Gems can convince her. Then they'll call us or something and tell us it's okay to go back, and it'll be like nothing ever happened."

He finished up his slice and, although it was pretty gross, he wiped his greasy fingers on his jeans. Greg did not reply, and Steven felt that his words had given his father some hope. So he turned to give Greg a smile.

Instead, he was met with Greg frowning, staring at Steven with something that was certainly not hope in his eyes. He set his slice down into the box, taking a shallow breath. He cleared his throat. His legs tensed up on the mattress.

"Okay, uh…" He took the pizza box and set it aside on the floor. Like Steven, he wiped his fingers on his pants. "Okay. We should talk."

He half-turned to Steven. His lips were pursing. Steven didn't pressure him to continue.

"Okay, so…You know…uh…When—Well. Ah…Ahem…"

Finally, Greg took a deep breath. It didn't get rid of the tension in his shoulders. He smiled.

"You remember that episode of _Crying Breakfast Friends_ when the Junk Food comes in and tries to take over the breakfast meal? Then Chocolate Cupcake and French Toast had that heartfelt one-on-one where they decide that Junk Food is okay, just not for breakfast, and they all got along at the end?"

Steven nodded fervently. After all, that episode, the season two finale, was one of his top-ten favorites. However, when Greg's smile slipped off his face, he knew that this was not what they were going to be talking about.

"Okay. This…This isn't like that. We need to prepare for the possibility that we…won't be going home anytime soon. And we may not see the Crystal Gems for a long time."

Steven didn't understand, and Greg knew.

"This isn't like a cartoon, Steven. These Gems…from 'Homeworld'…they don't care about the Earth. They don't care about listening to reason. They just don't. They're not coming to Earth to negotiate; they're coming in to finish up what they started."

"But…Opal and Ruby and Sapphire…and Mom, they know the earth is a good place."

" _They_ do. They know that because they had time. Rose loved the Earth more than anyone, and she used that love to guide the others, but love can't hold back a war. You can't solve everything with time and patience."

Steven's mouth felt dry. "Okay, so…The Gems can just hold them off!"

"Steven…"

" _What?"_

"It's not going to happen like that! It's not going to be that easy!"

"They did it before! The three of them and Mom handled it before!"

"Steven, it wasn't just _them!_ "

"What are you talking about?!"

"There were _other Crystal Gems._ It was a _war,_ Steven. Two sides fighting against one another. There were more Crystal Gems that loved the Earth, too, and they fought for it, but they and a lot of other people were lost because of it. Rose didn't talk about it because it hurt her too much to remember, but…She only managed to save a few of her friends at the end. Barely. If it wasn't for her shield, I don't think…"

Greg's voice choked off. He couldn't continue anymore; he was starting to shake and not at all helping was Steven staring at him with wide eyes beginning to brim with tears.

And he was almost crying because he didn't want to believe it. Because he knew that the Crystal Gems would handle it and everything was going to be fine, but now it _wasn't._ He wasn't going to see them for a long, long time, maybe ever, if Homeworld did what they did last time. But what is it that they did, he wondered, and how bad must those battles have been if there wasn't even a chance of negotiating?

It just made him think about all those other Crystal Gems. Not the ones that somehow got their minds Corrupted, but the Gems that went as they were. They were his mother's friends, too, just as Opal and Ruby and Sapphire were, but now they were gone. They had their own names and their own stories and their own reasons for loving the Earth. They never even got their victory. There had to be so many of them, too, for a war, because wars had armies, so there had to be so many Crystal Gems, and _only four managed to get out alive—!_

Because of Rose's shield.

Because of _his_ shield.

Because the shield was the only thing that saved them.

But now the Crystal Gems were alone, _three of them against who knew how many,_ with no one and nothing to protect them.

Because he'd left.

Because he told himself he wasn't going to be good enough.

But he was their only hope.

They were depending on him.

"I've got to go back."

He said it in such a low voice that Greg, at first, did not understand. "What?"

"I've got. To go. Back."

"Steven, what are you talking about—?!"

"Lion's outside. He can take me back to Beach City, and I can join the Crystal Gems there."

Greg's eyes grew wider with each word that Steven spoke. He knew that Steven was being serious, but he couldn't take it. "No. No, no, no. You are absolutely _not_ going back there."

Steven pushed himself to his feet and rounded on his father. His voice was breaking like glass. "I have to! They need me!"

"They sent you with me so you would be safe!"

"And now they're _not!_ Even if I have just a little bit of a chance to save them, I have to take it!"

"Steven—"

"No!"

" _I can't lose you!"_

" _I can't lose_ them _!"_

Greg was shaking so bad now, every limb on his body quivering as if he was cold. He wasn't staring at Steven anymore, his eyes hidden behind his hands. Steven couldn't tell if his father was crying, but his breathing was ragged. He was shaking his head from side-to-side.

"Dad, look at me."

He didn't.

" _Look at me!"_

He did. He was crying.

"I am the _only_ chance they've got. If I don't go there now, they will _die!_ Them and everything Mom fought so hard for are going to disappear!"

Greg didn't say anything.

Not knowing what other words to say, Steven just threw himself into Greg's arms. Greg responded at once, his arms clutching his little boy close to his chest as if Steven would turn into smoke the second he let go. His fingers dug into the fabric of Steven's jacket. One hand came to his hair, cradling him as he did when he was a child.

Greg was crying, and Steven was crying, but he only gave them ten seconds.

Then Steven pulled back, watched Greg's hands curl into his chest, and told him, without any hesitation, _"I am going to come back."_

Greg didn't reply. He nodded, but he wasn't looking at Steven.

Steven knew that if he remained for a second longer, he would break down and hug his father more and waste the precious time that he needed. So even though Greg was crying and shaking and struggling to keep it together, Steven just ran away and shut the door behind him. He wanted to say "goodbye", but that was too final, so he didn't.

It felt like it took him all of three seconds to get from the hotel room to the parking lot. His body was pumping adrenaline like an engine, and even though he ran through hallways and down stairs, the energy made him feel weightless.

Lion was still on Mr. Smiley's car when he got there.

"Lion!"

Lion would probably ignore him at any other time, but with the way Steven's voice broke on the last syllable, he cracked open an eye at him.

"I need you to take me back!"

Lion didn't hesitate. Surprisingly. He stood to his paws, arched his back, and took a short jump down to the asphalt. Steven pulled himself onto Lion's back and just barely caught a hold of Lion's mane when he roared a portal for them and leaped.

Whether by haste or short distance, the travel through the tunnel of color and light seemed to be over in a second. When Lion's paws hit the earth, Steven lurched forward and planted face-first into his mane. He pulled back, groaning at the sick, roiling feeling in his belly.

Oh.

Things had gotten _bad._

Steven at first thought perhaps something was wrong with his eyes, but no. Everything was _green._ The night sky was green. The sand was green. The grass beneath him was so neon it almost hurt his eyes. If it wasn't green, it was highlighted pure white. Looking down at his hands, his usually tan skin was now white as snow. The yellow star on his shirt had turned lime. There was a source, from what he could tell. He could see the ocean turning a sort of milky-green to his left, but to his right, it calmed into a turquoise color. The air was eerily still.

He was already disoriented, but he had no time to lose. He hopped off of Lion's back. With just a quick glance around, he knew that he was in the grass on the Temple's back. And whatever all the color was coming from, it was ahead.

"Lion, stay here," he commanded. His words weren't in their usual gentle voice. "If anything happens, you need to go back to Dad. Tell my story. If they make a statue of us, make sure they get my good side."

Lion just sat down obediently. He wasn't going anywhere.

Steven took off then, rounding around the hillside and looking ahead to the stretch.

The Hand Ship, once as distant as the moon, was now as big as Steven's own hand and still approaching. It was pointed down at the Temple. Its path split the clouds apart behind it. It almost seemed as big as the Temple itself, something that made Steven shiver, because who knew how many Gems would be inside of it?

A barrage of white arrows suddenly blasted against the extended finger. They disappeared like mere snow against the knuckles, even though the sound was like bullets hitting steel.

At the end of the stretch, Opal gritted her teeth and lowered her bow. Her hands were shaking, a side-effect of using so many full-power arrows in such a short amount of time. She'd even tried using two bows at one point, to no avail. Her attacks were doing nothing.

She turned to her right. "You try!"

Steven expected to see Ruby and Sapphire, but he only saw a single person, taller than him but the top of her cubic afro only came up to Opal's neck.

Garnet pursed her lips and knelt down to the sand. She was different from the last time Steven had seen her, and perhaps that had something to do with Sapphire's regeneration. Her afro had become a bit smaller, a bit neater, and her once-square sleeves were now angular. Her visor glinted white and neon green.

She smashed her gauntlets side-by-side with a resounding _BOOM._ She aimed them up at the approaching Hand-Ship, and with enough force to push her back on her toes, fired her gauntlets up at it.

The gauntlets zipped like a firework through the air. And, like a firework, it burst. It hit right on the Hand's fingernail and then dissipated into nothing.

Opal and Garnet both frowned, their fingers curling into fists. Garnet grunted suddenly, and although Opal extended an arm to her, the three-eyed fusion crumpled down to the sand as her form gave away.

Ruby and Sapphire pushed themselves up to their feet. Sapphire was as rigid as stone, and frustrated tears were pricking at Ruby's eyes. Ruby summoned her gauntlets, Sapphire her knuckledusters, and they held them up to swing at any moment. Opal stepped behind them and kept her bow in her grip.

"Keep it together," she told them in a low voice. "Just think of Steven."

The air was so still that even though he was still at the Temple's side, Steven could hear her words and opened his mouth to reply. He lifted his foot to run, but at the same time, he was forced down to the sand.

The Hand Ship gave one final zip forward. A shockwave went through the air, making the Crystal Gems tremble and Steven to fall. Green fire wavered on the finger, and only extinguished when it was a mere twenty feet above the sand.

There was no doubt about it. The Hand Ship was as large as the Temple itself. There was no hope of stopping it now.

The Hand Ship, however it was doing it, kept a reverb in the air. Like a constant hum, it made Steven's body tremble out of his control. He began to run, but with the sensation and the sand, he was only running at half the speed he normally would.

The Hand Ship flipped over, still pointing down, until its palm faced the sky and the fingernail made touchdown on the beach. A wave of sand went into the air, and Steven felt another shockwave rattle through his legs.

The fingernail split off and lowered down like the hatch of an airplane. Blinding white light spilled out from the space it left behind.

From the white light, a figure emerged. Just one, a shapeless blob of shadow that only grew as it drew near. The Crystal Gems readied their Weapons.

Then the figure stopped when it reached the end of the hatch. Another shape emerged, smaller and shorter, and stopped beside the first.

For a long, tense, stomach-churning moment, the Crystal Gems and the unknowns stared one another down. Steven stopped running, unsure of what to do—run to help, or accidentally initiate a battle?

A voice, gruff, deep, and tired, spoke.

"This place is as dismal as I remember it. Peridot."

Another voice, a familiar one, replied, "Yes?"

"Put the ship on stand-by."

Steven heard a short beep from the smaller shape. The blinding light from the Hand Ship died down.

Peridot was the first figure to be discernable. The "fingers" of her right hand were formed into a small screen, one used as a stylus. Steven saw that from the thighs down, her legs turned into wide stumps. Diamond insignias were on her knees. She glared down at the Crystal Gems as if they were mere bugs she was about to squash.

The second figure Steven absolutely did not know, nor did he want to.

The Gem was as tall as Garnet but much broader. Her legs, shoulders, arms, chest—everything on her body was bound in strong muscle. Even her jaw was chiseled. Her hair was wild, falling all the way down her back to her thighs. She, like Peridot, was wearing a bodysuit with a diamond insignia at her V-neck, but hers ended in a pair of boots. She had a cape tied around her shoulders that went across her broad shoulders and came together with a triangular button beneath her strong chin. The high collar framed her face.

From a distance, Steven could see little of her face, and none of her colors in the green. Something told him she was sneering. Her presence seemed to dominate the scene, and she knew it.

"Is this it?" she grunted. " _This_ is what's causing you so much trouble?"

Peridot bristled. "Yes! _They_ are the ones causing all the interference, Jasper!"

The Gem, Jasper, let out an unamused sigh. "Right. Get the prisoner."

Peridot turned behind her. The fingers on her left hand came together in a piston-like shape, and a beam of light darted into the interior of the Hand Ship. Steven heard a grunt from inside, and a second later, someone was being dragged out by the beam attached to her wrist.

The beam let Lapis Lazuli go, but only so Jasper could grab a hold of her arm instead. She did it with such little effort, but Lapis was effectively trapped. Jasper didn't budge an inch no matter how much she pulled.

Jasper nodded forward at the Temple. "This is their base of operations?"

Lapis Lazuli instead looked at the Crystal Gems. They stared back, realizing that the person who was trying to warn them had become the person who had sold them out. Opal was confused by the revelation, but Ruby was livid. She glared daggers up at the blue Gem while Sapphire gripped her knuckledusters tighter.

Lapis turned away. "Yes. It is."

Jasper hummed. "And Rose Quartz is nowhere to be seen."

Steven paused where he stood.

"Ugh. The highlight of this trip was supposed to be breaking her Gem to pieces."

Almost before Jasper finished speaking, Ruby barked out, _"Get lost!"_

Sapphire threw in a sharp _"Now!"_

Although Opal's voice was clear, there was an underlying growl laced in her words. She had her bow at the ready, though no arrow had been summoned yet. "This planet is not under Homeworld's control. Leave. Now."

Rather than puffing up at them, Jasper just looked over all of them. Even with three Gems pointing their Weapons on her, she just clicked her tongue.

"So _this_ is the army that's going to save the planet Earth," she mused.

Her eyes went to Opal. "A disgusting cry for attention—"

Her eyes went to Sapphire. "—a brainwashed tactician—"

Her eyes went to Ruby. "—and a collector's piece."

She nodded. "I can see how this won a war."

Peridot whined, "Are you going to do something or not?"

Jasper threw her head back and sighed. She spun to the right, dragging Lapis along with her, and called over her shoulder, "There was no reason for me to be here. Just blast 'em."

Steven had no idea what that meant, but he was already running. Despite his pounding heart and the lingering reverb, he just ran and ran as fast as he could.

Peridot sighed and followed Jasper while she fiddled with her screen. The hatch of the finger closed back into place while the ship turned to the side. It was still pointing down at the beach, but now a thumb was lifted, like it was taunting the Crystal Gems.

While Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, and Peridot meandered to the side, light gathered on the fingertip of the ship. A low whistling came through the air. There was no chance for the Crystal Gems to run now—the finger was aimed right at them. Lapis Lazuli just covered her eyes and looked away, but Peridot and Jasper watched as if it was a boring show.

The Crystal Gems huddled together, as if it would help at all, none of them noticing Steven as he ran and ran and ran to them, huffing for air and almost tripping over his own feet.

The blaster was growing brighter, the whistling louder, and even though it almost seemed hopeless, Steven just focused on the Crystal Gems. Not just his team, his family, his family who he swore to protect the second he declared himself as one of them, the second that he was born.

The blaster went off, and Steven jumped ahead of the Crystal Gems.

An explosion ripped through the air.

Peridot and Lapis Lazuli teetered as they were rocked to the core. Sand went flying through the air, smoke blasting out in every direction. A great heatwave drove off the nighttime chill. Even so, Jasper remained still, just glaring ahead through the dissipating smoke to see what had become of the Crystal Gems.

Her eyes went wide.

The shield that stood between the Crystal Gems and the Hand Ship was the biggest that it had ever been, taller than Opal herself and then some. Among the white and green light that had consumed the beach, it remained brilliant pink, the spirals going into the bright triangle at the center. Smoke was still trailing off of it from the blast, the air around it shimmering with heat.

Bit by bit, the shield fell away, disappearing into little shards of light and retreating back into Steven's Gem. His weak knees finally gave away beneath him. He was suddenly exhausted, his skin still tingling with the aftereffects. He felt like every last bit of strength in his body had just been sapped out.

"Steven!"

Four voices, the Crystal Gems and Lapis Lazuli, cried his name all at once. Hands pulled him up to his shaking feet and back from the ship. The smoke still lingered, and although he could not see their faces, he heard the Gems calling out to him.

"What are you doing here?" Opal demanded.

"You're supposed to be with Greg," cried Sapphire.

Ruby said nothing but a sharp cry of _"BOY!"_

" _You."_

Jasper stepped forward. Up close, Steven could see more of her face. He saw that what he at first thought was her nose was actually her Gem. There were stripes on her face—one slicing from her jaw to her temple, the other cutting halfway through her cheek.

Her almond-shaped eyes were stark yellow. They pierced down into Steven's exposed Gem, her thick eyebrows drawn over them into a surprised but absolutely _livid_ scowl. There was nothing but pure, murderous intent in it, and it made Steven shrink.

"Rose Quartz! It's _you._ Why do you look like that?"

"No!"

Lapis Lazuli threw herself forward and latched onto Jasper's arm. She tried pulling the much larger Gem back, but it was like trying to push a boulder. Jasper just scowled at her.

"He's just a human! He's not a threat!"

"I'm not stupid." Jasper threw her arm back, effectively sending Lapis sprawling to the sand. Peridot stepped back to avoid being hit. "I know that shield from anywhere. Now, I don't know why she looks so _weak…_ but that'll just make things easier."

Steven was swiftly pulled back behind the Crystal Gems. Ruby and Sapphire raised their fists to strike. Opal summoned an arrow into her bow, hot white and tipped like a razor. They scowled at Jasper—a pack of wolves ready to maul. Lapis Lazuli scrambled to her feet, but seemed caught between running forward and staying put.

At this time, Sapphire forgot anything and everything about keeping composure and just snarled, _"You're going to have to come through us, first!"_

Jasper raised a thick eyebrow at her. Leaning down to Peridot, she sighed, "Fire a barrage."

Peridot stepped back and swiped her stylus-finger across the screen. No one had a second to react—the Hand Ship flipped over, two fingers pointed down at the beach as a gun. Then there was a flash, and the sand not ten feet away from Steven burst into the air. He squeezed his eyes shut on instinct, and did not see who lifted him up. He heard several more explosions, felt sand cutting into his cheeks, heat blasting over his skin. He hit the ground with a skid, and whoever was holding him rolled away.

He opened his eyes, wiping away the bits of sand crusted in his eyelashes, and found that the beach had become a minefield. Craters of sand, hot enough to turn into glass, were smoking all around him. He couldn't see the Crystal Gems anymore. He couldn't see anyone.

Then he saw Jasper, stepping out of the smoke without so much as a nick. She was sneering with disgust, and didn't stop until she was almost toe-to-toe with him.

He couldn't feel his legs. He couldn't breathe.

"What are you playing at, Rose?" Jasper scoffed. "You think looking all small and helpless is going to make me spare you? You think looking like a puny little human is going to sway me. You're wrong. I've been waiting for this for a long, long time."

She raised a foot, her heel pointed down at Steven's Gem.

White light burst against Jasper's shoulder. She was sent skidding, smoke trailing up from her cloak. But she was not at all fazed. Rather, her legs held strong, and all she did was give a sideways scowl at her incoming assailant.

Opal burst out of the haze of smoke and fired an arrow before she even touched the ground. It blasted against Jasper's chest, but hardly did any better than before. Jasper just gritted her teeth and raised a hand.

Opal's foot, which was pointed down to strike Jasper in the face, was grabbed by the shin. Jasper slung the taller Gem over her shoulder like she was little more than a ragdoll. Opal, though caught off-guard, managed to land on her toes and spin around with another arrow at the ready.

It was never fired. Jasper, in the blink of an eye, had summoned her Weapon—a hulking crash helmet that wrapped around her head and held a visor over her eyes and Gem. Opal had just stopped moving when Jasper charged forward with her head rearing back.

Opal let her arrow dissipate and held her bow up above her. The head of Jasper's helmet crashed down on it, steel on steel, the resounding _CRACK_ loud enough to ring in Steven's ears. Opal's two lower arms whipped forward, her hands slicing deep into Jasper's abdomen. Jasper grunted, but rather than improve her chances at all, Opal's strike had only kindled the fire.

Jasper flashed her sharp, white teeth in the most garish smile Steven had ever seen. With her helmet still pressed to the bow, Jasper's hands—they were as big as iron skillets—closed around Opal's wrists. Opal was once again sent flying through the air.

She did not land so easily this time, rolling over twice before she stopped in a kneel, her back to Jasper. Her eyes opened to Steven. He felt himself shrinking back from the pure, acidic fire in her eyes.

But like a fire, it extinguished in an instant. Opal's gritted teeth went slack. She blinked at him as the tension in her body faltered. And Steven's first thought was what, is something wrong? Was he hurt, and he didn't know it? Was something behind him?

But then he realized no, _she forgot._ She was so upset that even though she had just saved him from Jasper, she forgot that he was there. Because Opal forgot that Steven was no longer safe and far away, he was right there, he had just saved them, she'd just saved him, but it was all so much that she'd forgotten all about it.

Then her face was twisting, twisting into anger or horror or determination, as she pushed herself up to her feet—

She gasped.

Steven's breath choked in his throat.

Jasper stood behind Opal, her helmet still on her face but nowhere near Opal. She was holding something in her hand. Steven couldn't tell what it was, but it had two prongs and was sparking with licks of yellow electricity.

The two prongs were jutting through Opal's chest. Their sharp tips were on either side of her Gem, like teeth ready to clamp down on it. Opal blinked down at the prongs with the blank expression of someone snapping out of a daze.

Then, somehow, little yellow veins started to branch through her body, starting from her chest and going out. They split off in corners and angles, and Steven could hear the hum as it coursed through her form. The veins crawled their way up her face, up to the Gem on her forehead, and her eyes, which were starting to turn just as yellow, continued to just blink and blink.

She remembered Steven then.

"Steven, _run_ —!"

 _POOF!_

Opal's Gems fell at Steven's feet.

Steven's breath came back to him in a shuddering gasp, and his eyes burned from staring, but he couldn't look away from the remnants of Opal. He just barely saw the last wisps of her form fade away into the air. Her forehead Gem, looking like an egg, was alone in the sand, while her chest Gem was against Steven's heel.

Then Steven was being lifted into the air by his shirt. Jasper lifted Steven all the way up to her face so she could look at him eye-to-eye. Her other hand, still holding the weapon, hung limp at her side.

Somewhere, beyond the smoke, Steven heard Ruby and Sapphire calling his name.

"Isn't this just _delightful?_ " sneered Jasper. "The traitor Rose Quartz, her base taken—"

She kicked at one of Opal's Gems.

"—and her army fallen. I almost feel sorry for you."

Her fingers tightened in Steven's shirt.

"But I've been looking forward to this for far too long."

Her other hand came to Steven to hold him up by his under-arms. She began to rear her head back, her helmet glinting green, and with his 'fight' instinct finally switched on, Steven began to resist. He squirmed and kicked and slapped at Jasper's hands, just trying to pull himself away long enough to run and get Opal's Gems and go back to Ruby and Sapphire and then they would all take care of this. He pulled and struggled as hard as he could.

It was no use.

He was trapped.

He locked gazes with yellow eyes.

He felt something hard hit his forehead—

—and he was gone.


	32. The Jailbreak

" _LET HIM GO RIGHT NOW!"_

" _Grab them with your tractor beam."_

" _Steven!"_

" _LET GO OF US!"_

" _Please! Take us, leave him alone!"_

" _What is she doing?"_

" _He's unconscious, put him down—!"_

" _Oh, that's rich. Acting all weak and hurt so I'll leave you alone—"_

" _PUT HIM DOWN, YA MEATHEAD!"_

" _Throw them into third-level cells. Blue Diamond can decide what happens to the Sapphire. And I'm sure someone is going to want the Ruby."_

" _Fine. What are you going to do with the Steven?"_

" _The what?"_

" _The one you're holding—"_

" _I'll just toss her into a first-level. It's where traitors like her belong."_

" _Whatever. Do what you want."_

" _Steven…!"_

" _Take the Lapis, too."_

" _Hey—!"_

" _Put her wherever. I don't care."_

" _Steven!"_

" _Steven!"_

" _Steven!"_

" _STEVEN!"_

Steven jolted awake.

He was lying on his side on a cold, hard floor. His limbs were splayed out like a ragdoll. The room he was in was small, square, and absolutely unfamiliar to him. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of the same shiny green material. It smelled oddly metallic and clean, like a hospital.

He moved to sit up, but the throbbing in his forehead made him stop and hiss. It stung bitterly all down his temple. When he blinked, his eye burned. Something near the corner of his eye was dry and crusty. He didn't realize why at first.

But then he remembered.

They lost.

Jasper and Peridot won.

He hadn't even lasted ten minutes.

And now he and Ruby and Sapphire and—

 _Opal._

Opal had been poofed.

It was his fault.

But it did not explain where he was now. They had been on the beach, right in front of the Temple. So why was he in this little green room now?

He could not see a door, but then he turned around. The room was actually a little cell. He could see two other cells identical to his across the hallway. But in place of a door, he found himself looking through a bright yellow screen like the fourth wall. There was no switch or lever to bring it up. Electricity was humming somewhere.

Wherever he was, he guessed he had Jasper and Peridot to blame.

So that meant Ruby and Sapphire and Opal were here too, right? Or perhaps not. Maybe they were still fighting, or maybe he'd been kidnapped from them, or maybe they'd been shatter—

He had to find them, quickly. They needed to find each other. Especially Opal—if she hadn't reformed already, then they needed to find her Gems.

Lapis, too. Lapis Lazuli had been with Peridot and Jasper, but Steven knew that she wasn't _with_ them. Lapis wouldn't have sent them a warning, or stood up for him on the beach. They must have blackmailed her to ratting them out. That was the only explanation. And even though she didn't like the Crystal Gems or the Earth very much, something told him that an invitation this time around would be accepted.

His first instinct was to reach out and touch the screen, but distant footsteps stopped him cold.

Steven flipped back over and set himself in the same position he was in before. He didn't know what else to do; his only hope was that whoever was coming, Jasper or Peridot or whatever other Gems were in this place, would leave him alone if they thought he was still asleep.

Thinking on it, he wondered if there were other Homeworld Gems here. For a battleship that had to have the whole town evacuated, he'd only seen Jasper and Peridot. Either the rest hadn't been seen yet…or Jasper and Peridot were all that were needed. He didn't know which would bother him more.

The closer the footsteps got, the more he heard a voice, grunting and hissing like the person was fighting against something. But he couldn't tell who it was yet—Ruby or Sapphire or whoever else.

The voice yelped, there was a hard thump, and then a quick, electric _ZAP_.

The person growled, but with another sharp _ZAP,_ let out a cry. It definitely wasn't Ruby, Sapphire, or Opal. Their voice was kind of scratchy, a bit lower than Ruby's voice. Feminine, from what Steven could tell.

Another voice spoke then, much more familiar, but not in the way Steven wanted.

"Are you done yet?" Jasper asked in the most bored tone possible.

The stranger's voice was filled with enough fury to ring in Steven's ears. _"Stop hiding behind this thing and fight me, you giant orange!"_

Jasper barked a laugh. "What, you think you can take me?"

" _I KNOW I CAN!"_

"That's hilarious. Come on, Peridot. I don't have time for this."

There were one or two footsteps, but then the person cried, _"Get back here, you coward!"_

There was a pause, another footstep, and Steven just assumed that Jasper had stepped closer to whoever was speaking. Her voice was remarkably calm, but still intense, as she spoke.

"If it was up to me, an overcooked runt like you would have already been shattered under my boot. But it's not my choice, disappointingly."

It was not the person who replied this time. It was Peridot, sounding halfway between annoyed and meek.

"What do I do with _this_ one?" she asked.

"Take her to the interrogation chamber. Pearls break easily."

As Peridot's hard, clunking footsteps faded away, the person in the chamber cried out. Any fury in her voice was gone. Now she just sounded utterly distressed.

"No! Wait! Don't take her—Please!"

Jasper sighed. "Defectives calling out for defectives. How pathetic."

The person continued to scream and screech pleads, eventually insults, as Jasper came closer and closer to Steven's cell. He didn't move a muscle. He could only hope that she couldn't tell his eyes were open.

He saw her shadow on the wall. She was quiet. Unmoving. She didn't step forward or back. She just stared down at him. Steven held his breath.

Then she left. All was quiet.

Steven once again stood to his feet and looked to screen. It was the one and only thing keeping him from the hallway. He didn't have a choice.

"Here goes nothing."

He stuck a finger into the screen.

The feeling surprised him, and he pulled back at first, but then tried again. He wasn't sure how to describe it—it was kind of like when Onion tricked him with the electric bubblegum, the way it zipped up his fingers, but he didn't have to pull back. So he pushed his whole hand through the screen. The buzzing moved through his fingers and up his arms. His veins were glowing yellow through his skin.

"…Cool!"

He pushed forward. One arm in, one foot. It was not at all pleasant, especially as it moved across his face and into his scalp. It made his teeth shatter and his skin tingle.

But then he was on the other side, and the yellow in his veins faded away. The hallway was made of the same shiny green material as everything else. There were tubes on the ceiling, bright yellow, and something moved through them. It kind of reminded him of the veins back in the Temple. Probably the same Gem-stuff, he guessed.

"Okay, I'm out. But where to go…?"

Besides just finding the others, he had to be careful not to cross paths with Jasper or Lapis. Peridot, he wasn't sure, but Jasper would probably do a little worse than a headbutt if she found him out of the cell. Heck, even if she saw the empty cell, not him, she'd lose it.

"Silent like the night, Steven. Silent like the night."

So he took a step, and flinched. No use. The light little touchdown made a metallic, hollow sound still.

A shout made him jump and spin around. Down the hallway, just as it turned a corner, another yellow screen flashed bright and let out the _ZAP_ he'd heard before.

He crept closer to the cell, hoping his footsteps weren't as loud as they seemed to him. Hopefully, whoever was in the cell wasn't going to rat him out if she saw him. She didn't like Jasper, obviously, so maybe not.

He came closer and closer, and when he was finally a step away, yellow flashed in his face. He jumped back from the pop of electricity, almost falling on his behind.

But the popping did not go away. Something round and white was pressing against the screen, and in response, the screen was humming louder and louder. Sparks began to fly. Steven couldn't tell what the thing was; just that it was moving fast enough to make the air whistle.

Then there was a burst, a cry, and the thing flew back and hit the far wall.

The stranger grunted when their back thumped hard, and grunted again when they collapsed face-first onto the floor. They pushed themselves up, pulling hair out of their face as they winced. Yeah, Steven definitely didn't know this person.

The screen made everything on her yellow, not unlike how everything had been green from the Hand-ship. She was kind on the chubby side, with a round face and round lips. Her eyes were round, too, though Steven wouldn't have seen the left one if she hadn't pushed her hair away from it. Yellow screen or not, Steven could tell that her hair was white. It was messy and long, very long, down to her shins. Her boots were white, too. She was dressed pretty casually, in just a loose tank top and leggings.

Before Steven could say anything, she had turned to the yellow screen again with her eyes full of fire. With remarkable speed, her form curled in like a hedgehog, the thing that Steven had seen before. It darted forward to take another shot…

…but before it touched, she unfolded, rolling over once and landing upright on her feet. She was no longer focused on the screen. She was staring through it—staring at Steven with a face of utter shock.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish for a moment. Steven stared back, glancing down the halls, wondering if he should go ahead and bolt.

She finally managed to stutter out, "You escaped!"

Something on her chest glinted, and Steven looked down at what he hadn't noticed before: a Gem, round with a hexagonal facet, peeking out of her top's neckline.

Were Jasper and Peridot rounding up other Gems from other places, too, and the Earth was just a stop on their way? That might have been reassuring. Maybe Homeworld just saw the Crystal Gems as a nuisance instead of war-potential, which for them, would be absolutely fantastic. If they got out of this situation, that is.

The Gem was waiting for Steven to answer, but jolted from his thoughts, all he could manage was, "Yes." He paused. "Who are you?"

Her lips puckered. "Uh. I'm—Wait. No." Her fingers dug into her hair, and her eyes blinked. She was buffering, for whatever reason. "Not supposed—I—"

Finally, she just groaned and threw her arms into the air. "It doesn't matter right now!" She stepped closer to the screen between them, close enough for her nose to almost touch it. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"Jasper walked by a minute ago—"

"I don't care about her. Or Peri- _snot_. Who else?"

"That's it. But my friends are probably here somewhere. I need to go find them before they get hurt!"

"Right! I know, so…How did you get out?"

"Oh. Uh…The thingy doesn't really work on me? It just kind of…"

He stuck his hand through the screen. She started at first, but then just watched as his veins glowed yellow and his fingers vibrated. Then he pulled his hand back, and she jumped forward as if he was about to run off.

"Listen, dude! You have to let me out of here! We'll find our friends together."

"You're looking for someone, too?"

" _Less talk, more action!"_

"Right, right! Time to friend-hunt!"

So he had an ally, at least, in the same position that he was in. Given, he didn't know her name, but she definitely wasn't Jasper's buddy, and that was good enough for him. The more, the merrier.

So Steven stepped halfway through the screen and held up his arm. Past it, the screen stopped like he was parting the flow of a waterfall. The Gem ducked through without a word, and once she was on the other side, she grabbed Steven's hand in hers and took off running.

Steven stumbled after her, glancing over his shoulder, then back at her. He could see her colors clearly now. Her tank-top was black, her leggings dark gray. Her skin was a bright lilac color, the same as her Gem. Her wild white hair whipped up behind her, almost tickling Steven's arm.

With each cell that passed, the Gem glanced inside and kept running with Steven in tow. She was murmuring something under her breath, like "interrogation room, interrogation room…"

After a minute of it, Steven finally spoke up, "So, why are you here?"

The Gem did not respond at first. "I'll explain it later."

"Where are you from?"

"Later."

"What's going on?"

"Later."

"You do realize there may not _be_ a later, right?"

" _La. Ter."_

"Well, can you at least tell me your name?"

She saw something ahead, and stopped cold. Her hand slipped from Steven's fingers. One step forward, another. Then she was running to it, and Steven followed.

A window, he saw, and—

 _Oh stars._

They definitely weren't on the beach anymore.

No, they were probably hundreds of miles _above it._

The Earth in front of them looked so small, like he'd seen when Lapis took off for Homeworld. They were close enough for it to take up most of the window's view, but far away enough for Steven to see the horizon curved ahead. He could see the blue of the oceans, the swirls of the clouds, the ice caps on the poles. Then there were the stars, hundreds of them, twinkling with the most crystalline clarity Steven had ever seen. The way something so larger-than-life was now little more than a painting to him made Steven's mind hurt.

At the least, the Hand-Ship was not moving, it seemed. They were 'docked' for the time being, but Steven could only hope that 'the time being' would last long enough to at least give them a _chance_ to escape.

Beside him, the Gem mumbled, "We. Are. Janked."

Somewhere nearby, more footsteps sounded. The Gem and Steven both stilled, holding their breaths. Wherever they were, the footsteps' owner seemed to pass them, fading in and out of hearing.

Once it was silent again, the Gem whispered, "I'm pretty sure it's just Peridot and Jasper on the ship."

Steven frowned. "That's it? I thought it was going to be, like, five hundred of them and a bunch of giant battle-robots or something."

"Hey, I ain't complaining. But we still have to be careful. I'm pretty sure we can handle Peri-snot, but Carrot-Nose is a couple crayons short of a box, so…"

"You mean she's a couple cards short of a deck?"

"Yeah. Like, a couple hammers short of a toolbox."

"A couple paints short of a palette—"

"Okay, this conversation is enlightening, and I want to continue with this later, but right now we need to get our friends." She gritted her teeth, clenched her fingers. "We need to find the interrogation chamber. Have to find Pearl before they hurt her."

"'Pearl'? Is that your friend's name?"

"Wh—Oh, uh…Yeah." The Gem swallowed. "She's alone."

"Then we'll change that."

She sent him a thankful smile, but it quickly dropped off her face.

Steven hardly had a second to react. The Gem suddenly grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled them behind a corner leading into another hallway. Steven hit the floor shoulder-first. The impact made his head smart again, and he almost asked the Gem what the big deal was. Instead, seeing how she was crouched down and peeking beyond the corner, the words stopped in his throat. He leaned over her until his chin was almost on her head to get a better look.

Jasper was walking in their direction, although by her bored expression, it seemed that she hadn't noticed them yet. Her skin, Steven saw, was the same bright orange hue as her Gem, but with apricot stripes, like a tiger. Her left arm from the elbow down was darker, her right bicep had two bands wrapped around it—her face had a slash from one cheek to the opposite temple, with a little half-stripe on her left cheek. Her wild hair was still white.

Steven also noted with interest that her suit, which he had thought was almost exactly like Peridot's, was actually blue. The chest and boots cobalt, her legs and the cape still tied around her shoulders navy. The diamond-shaped insignia at her chest was a light blue color instead of Peridot's yellow.

Her heavy boots _thump-thump-thumped_ towards them. The Gem next to Steven tensed and reached in his direction. Steven had half the mind to start running already.

Jasper's eyes turned to the great window, and she paused. Something about her soured. She turned toward it with her lip curled and her yellow eyes narrowed. The sight of the great blue planet seemed to disgust her.

She raised her hand, and Steven noticed a little bracelet around her wrist too small to notice before. Jasper pressed a little diamond button on it, and a red light began to blink. Jasper held it up to her lips.

"Currently docked approximately two miles above the Earth's highest atmospheric level," she said. Her voice was monotonous, robotic. "I'm giving the heart-drive time to charge full-power before we make our way back to Homeworld. The Peridot is taking the Pearl into interrogation to see if we can get something out of her. All other prisoners, including Rose Quartz, are in their cells."

Jasper paused, and her other hand twitched as if to turn the recorder off, but she continued.

"After the war, I had hoped that I wouldn't have to see this pathetic speck of a planet ever again. The one saving grace of this mission was supposed to be finding Rose Quartz so I could shatter her, once and for all. Then I discover she's disguising herself as a fleshy little human called a 'Steven' for sympathy—disappointing and disgusting, as I admittedly admired her tactics before. At the same time, I wouldn't put it beyond her. Ironic how she starts a whole war to protect her precious humans, then uses their helplessness for her own protection. Expect scum from scum."

Jasper's eyes narrowed down at the Earth. She seemed to particularly focus on a little spot in the northwest.

"To think I was actually made here. _Here,_ of all places." Disgust hissed through her teeth. "I'm better than this place. That's not going to change, Cluster or not. Then this can just be a big mistake to put behind me. I'll at least take some satisfaction in it, I suppose, though I'll be a bit disappointed Rose Quartz won't be around. Maybe I can suggest some kind of recording to be shown to her before they do whatever they do. I could ask that they keep her alive long enough to see it, then shatter her right after. It would be absolutely _euphoric_ just to see the look on her face when—"

"Jasper."

Peridot's voice made Jasper jump higher than Steven would have expected for a stone-cold mom-hunter to. Peridot faltered in her steps as she came closer to the orange Gem, and Jasper turned the recorder off without a dismissal. She sent Peridot a lazy but unamused glower.

"How long have you been standing here?"

"I haven't. I just got here."

"You're supposed to be taking care of the Pearl."

"Yeah…Here's the thing. I tried throwing her into the pressure chamber, but she reformed before I got there."

"And?"

" _And_ she broke my tractor beam."

Peridot held up her right hand's palm out to Jasper. There was a little green glass circle in the middle for her tractor beam to shine out of, but now it was shattered. Little green sparks were jumping off of it.

Jasper's lips curled at the sight. "You let a _Pearl_ get the best of you?"

Peridot sputtered out an affronted _"No!"_ With her voice high enough to ring off the walls, she added, "I may not be a Quartz, but I'm better than a measly _Pearl."_

The Gem in front of Steven tightened her grip on the wall. Her teeth gritted together.

Jasper just rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."

She began to walk past Peridot, but the smaller Gem spun around to her, crying, "Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"What _did_ you do?"

"I just locked her in."

"Well, just leave her there. Dealing with defective little nothings wasn't part of the job description."

"Fine. But I'm going back down to at least fix my tractor beam."

"Couldn't care less. Just don't take too long. We need to set a course for Homeworld as soon as the heart-drive is charged."

With that, Jasper sauntered away and out of sight. The purple Gem twitched, and Steven set a hand on her shoulder for fear of her running after Jasper. But she stayed, although Steven could feel her trembling with fury. She was breathing hard enough for Steven to give her a light shush.

Then Peridot was walking in their direction, and they shrunk back. Steven realized that they were kind of trapped. They could run down the hall, but their footsteps would be heard loud and clear. Steven couldn't see her anymore, but he could hear and feel Peridot's footsteps coming closer and closer to them.

The stranger pulled away until her back was against the wall and held an arm over Steven's chest, and didn't drop it even after he pressed back, too. Her other hand went to her Gem. It glowed white, and the shapeless form of a weapon's handle appeared in her fingers.

Steven looked down at his belly. He'd summoned his weapon for the third time in his life, the biggest shield he'd ever managed, but could he do it again? He wondered if it would always have to be triggered out of him instead of willingly summoned.

Peridot's footsteps came closer and closer and then

she passed them.

Steven let out a stale breath as the tall Gem's green form came and went in less than a second. The stranger let her Gem go dull once more, and they both leaned over to watch Peridot walk away.

Then the stranger tugged on Steven's shirt. "Let's go."

She followed Peridot with the smoothest, quietest footsteps she could manage. Steven took a second to step out of his sandals and pick them up, but followed after her without complaint. The floor was very cold against the soles of his feet.

They tailed Peridot like shadows. When Peridot stopped, they stopped. When she turned around, they ducked behind a wall for cover. When she disappeared from sight, the purple Gem would hold Steven back for a second before following.

Through several more halls, they passed more and more empty cells, and Steven was becoming more and more convinced that it might have just been him, this stranger, and 'Pearl' as captives. The thought made his chest hurt. He didn't want to be needy, but being in outer space, hundreds of miles away from his family, who would have no chance to get to him…a fire of panic started to kindle in him.

But just as Peridot turned a corner, and the stranger held him back, Steven saw the yellow screen of an occupied cell. Hope got the best of him, and when he jumped forward to get a better look, the stranger's hands scrambled on him.

It was Lapis. All alone, her back against the wall, knees to her chest, arms hugging her legs. Her eyes lingered where Peridot passed, and Steven did not miss the dark sparkle of fury in her eyes, but then she just tucked her face into her knees. Her bare toes twitched together.

He pulled on the purple Gem's tank top. "That's my friend! Let's help her!"

"Wait, wait!"

The Gem pointed down the hall beside them, where Peridot's form was shrinking away and away. Steven's mind split in two, one going to Lapis, the other going to Peridot.

"We have to go get her," he told the stranger. "She has to know she's not alone."

"She knows, man, just—"

"She has to know we're here! _"_

The Gem's eyes were narrowed, but they were also pleading, and her harsh whisper was too desperate for Steven. "She's fine! Pearl isn't. _Please."_

And though Steven wanted so badly to run to that cell and let Lapis go and hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay, he knew that the stranger was right. Being alone in a cell was infinitely better than being alone in an interrogation chamber. Especially since neither Jasper nor Peridot seemed to have much care for Lapis at all.

So when he turned away from Lapis, and he and the stranger quickly pitter-patted after Peridot, she turned over her shoulder and told Steven, "We'll come back for her, I promise."

He looked back one last time and wondered if he saw Lapis looking after him or if he was mistaken.

They followed Peridot down one last curved hall before they finally got to some deviation: a staircase. The yellow steps disappeared into the floor, and Steven was held back from seeing any closer. Peridot's form dipped down and out of sight. The stranger kept Steven back just a moment longer before pursuing her.

Once the stairs came to the lower floor—Steven felt the temperature pick up as they stepped down—there was a left turn. Steven and the Gem once again took cover behind a wall to observe.

Steven didn't really know what to call the place they were in. It was wide-open, with a floor clear of anything. It would have been dim if it weren't for the… _thing_ against the northern wall. It was a great, ovular ball of what looked to Steven like pure, hot yellow energy. The walls around the thing were sprouted in green veins like a ribcage. Something told Steven that it was the "heart-drive", though he wasn't sure.

There were all of three other things in the place: a great triangular door on the far wall, sealed tight, a wall of various gizmos and gadgets, and a long platform against the darkest side of the room. There wasn't anything on the platform besides a bunch of flat circles on the surface. Steven had no earthly idea what it could have been.

While Peridot went over to the wall of gizmos and gadgets, she paid no mind to the loud banging coming from the sealed door. It was like a heartbeat, a consistent _thump-thump-thump_ with no pause. The stranger did mind it, though. Her eyes flickered from Peridot to the door with great urgency.

The only place to hide was the stairs, and Peridot was too close to the wall of whatever for them to risk a surprise attack. So they waited.

Peridot walked past the great array of objects, and Steven took a second to look at them. He recognized a few of the 'destabilizers' that Jasper had poofed Opal with, and the sight made him anxious, like seeing the tools at the dentist. The other things Steven did not recognize—discs, tubes, caps, wands, things that could have been tools but did not look like any tube Steven recognized. They were all packed tight, too, without an inch of space between them.

Peridot pressed a little square beside the array, and a small work table glided out of the wall for her. The only thing she grabbed from the wall was a tool that was almost a screwdriver…without the actual screwdriving part on it. It just had a little bulb at the end.

She laid her tractor-beam hand onto the table and held the tool with the other, and never gave mind to the consistent banging in the background. The bulb lit up, and when Peridot brought it to her damaged tractor-beam-whatever, it glowed as well. Peridot pulled it back, and with it, a few chips and shards of the broken glass. She had to repeat the process several times, and shook her hand out for good measure once she was done. A little dusting of green shards was spread over the table.

Then Peridot set the tool down and went back to the wall. Her eyes were trained on something near the top—more tractor-beam glasses, Steven saw when he followed her gaze. They looked like little cone-shaped crystals. There was a little strip of six of them.

Peridot set her feet apart, and like a car jack, her calves began to lift up from her ankles. Little rods attacked them and cranked and cranked, lifting Peridot higher and higher. She was very unamused by the process.

Steven and the stranger looked to the far door. The banging had not stopped its rhythm, but it was harder now, sharper. Peridot seemed to notice but did nothing, just reaching up for another glass—

 _BOOM._

Peridot jumped high at the great sound that exploded from the door. She almost fell off her elevated legs. Steven watched her eyes narrow and her lips curl, and without even getting a new tractor-beam glass, she turned away from the tool board and crossed the floor. Her legs shrunk smaller with each step, and she was at her normal height when she got to the door.

Once there, she glared at it like it was the person sealed inside and cried, _"Would you stop?!"_

The response she got was another great _BOOM,_ and she was close enough to be swayed by it.

Peridot straightened up and bristled like a bomb ready to drop. And she did, shaking her arms and trembling and spit flying from her mouth. It reminded Steven very much of a child having a temper tantrum, and honestly, the ferocity of it made him worry for Peridot.

"I am _above you!"_ she shrilled. "And you are _beneath me!_ You. Are. Worthless! You will do as I say as a Pearl and nothing more! Go against me one more time, I dare you to!"

She glared with the fury of a thousand fires at the door, still shaking.

It was silent.

Peridot visibly calmed. She straightened up. Her shoulders stopped heaving with her breaths. Her lips sealed over her teeth once again. She stared at the door for a few seconds more, surprise written on her face, then smug satisfaction.

She turned away with a chuckle. "Can't wait to tell how I put a Pearl in her pla—"

 _BOOM._

Peridot stopped cold in her tracks. A sort of still, tranquil fury seemed to overtake her, because she didn't move or even really blink. She just stared, half-lidded, straight ahead of her. Her breaths came out normal, yet Steven felt an indescribable fear inside him. Like waiting for a firework to shoot.

She didn't. Instead, she just walked, very calmly, to the little panel on the wall beside the door. She raised her hand to it. Her fingers begin to twiddle and press and swipe, and Steven and the stranger couldn't see a thing she was doing.

Steven felt a hand on his shoulder. "You need to take care of the door."

"What?"

"I'll take away the giant booger. You just need to get Pearl out of there."

"Um—"

"Ready?"

"No."

"Good."

She ran out of their hiding spot without any other warning.

Instead of going to Peridot, however, she went to the tool board. She skidded to a stop in front of it, and with little effort, managed to jump a good eight feet into the air. At the peak of her height, she swiped all the tractor-beam glasses from the board and hugged them to her chest.

She came back down on her feet, and with a bit of a crazed smile, turned around and cried, "HEY, NERD!"

If Gems could be killed from surprise, Peridot would have dropped dead at that moment. Instead, she shrieked, jumping and spinning around in one fluid movement.

The purple Gem picked up one of the glasses and waved it around like a stolen toy. "Can't wait to use these on Jasper~!"

Peridot stared for another few good seconds. It was taking her a long time to process what was happening, it seemed.

But then she jumped again, and she was running, flailing her arms at the stranger in a way that was far more sporadic than intimidating. It took Steven a second to realize, but Peridot did not seem angry at the purple Gem. He saw fear in her eyes. Perhaps she was scared of the stranger, or the thought of Jasper being confronted, or the thought of Jasper confronting _her_ about being confronted.

"Put those back," she cried out. "Get back here!"

The purple Gem blew a loud raspberry at her, and then she was running to and past Steven and up the stairs. Steven threw himself back against the wall on instinct. Peridot came to him, and though he saw a flash of panic in her eyes, she seemed to shrink back from him as she pursued the stranger.

Then, Steven was alone.

"I'm still not ready…"

First he wondered why they couldn't just approach Peridot and try to convince her while she was away from the tractor-beam glasses or any other weapons. Then he wondered why Peridot didn't grab a destabilizer before she pursued the purple Gem. Then he wondered what the plan was supposed to be after he got Pearl out of the chamber—

Pearl was still in the chamber.

His body was moving before his mind, it seemed. He stumbled and ran across the floor, his bare feet slapping down with each step.

Peridot had done something on the panel, but when Steven came up to it, it had nothing more than two circles and a rectangle. One circle was red, the other green and a little larger. He wasn't sure, but something told him that the green one was 'on', so he touched the red one instead.

Something hummed down like a computer calming from function. When nothing else happened, Steven touched the rectangle like it was a 'back' button, and it seemed to be. Another screen appeared, and this time, Steven truly did not know what to do. There were so many options and buttons, and it was an _interrogation room,_ so Steven really didn't want to tinker around with them.

But he had to open the door somehow. So he took a step back and took a breath.

"Even though she's not here, I will now channel Ruby's wisdom."

He punched the panel.

Steven knew he was stronger than a boy his age usually was, so he was surprised, but not absolutely, when the panel shattered beneath his fist. Sparks flew and chips fell to his feet. The impact bit at his flesh, and he pulled back.

At the very least, it seemed to work well enough. The door lifted up a foot and some inches from the floor. Some kind of opaque mustard-yellow gas gusted out onto the floor like cold steam from a fridge. It tickled warm against Steven's bare feet.

He took a second to just go ahead and pull his sandals back on. Then he held the door in his hands and lifted up, hard, as if pulling up a window.

More gas poured outside, and finally came to Steven's face. It was _foul._ Steven sputtered and coughed, but not because it really _smelled_ foul, it just made him feel like it. It made his head spin and his limbs wobble like jelly. It was a big whiff of chlorine, it felt like. Still, he had enough control to flail and windmill his arms until the fumes ghosted away.

When he opened his eyes again, the gas was low on the floor and slowly dispersing. Behind the door, he could see the "interrogation chamber", which didn't have as much in it as he thought. It was actually kind of small, with nothing in it but a little platform with another panel. He took it as the "pressure chamber" mentioned before.

There was something else in the room, a round white thing that Steven could not see clearly. It was held in the shapeless form of… _something._ It was caught in colors and flashes, like a living glitch. Steven's first idea was that it was some kind of weapon, and that he should run.

But then he realized that it was the way it was because of the gas. The fumes were scattering its form the way gas scatters light.

So Steven stepped closer to the thing and started waving and wafting the gas away. With each movement, its form pieced together a little more, until it would just flicker and flash every other moment. The nausea slowly went away from Steven, too, and soon it was just a few wisps on the floor to bother them.

The thing finally took its form, and Steven realized he was looking at Pearl.

When she came to, she was on her side in a fetal position, with her legs to her chest. Her limbs were long and slender, her physique that of a ballerina. Her clothes, too. Most of them were simple, a high-necked teal tunic, short amber leggings, and pink socks up to her calves. But there was also a silky blue sash around her waist, and it tied into a great big bow in the back, the ribbons strewn on the floor. Her shoes were blue ballet flats.

She was very pretty, in a delicate kind of way, like Lapis and Sapphire. Her nose was pointed, her lips were thin but plush, and her strawberry-blonde hair was swept up from her head in a way that reminded Steven of pixies in fairytale books. Her skin was lily-white.

Her hands were over her forehead, and she was shaking, and Steven thought that she was trying to say something. He went to her side and hovered his hands over her form while it worked out its glitches. Then he realized she wasn't trying to talk, she was _humming,_ a five-note tune that sounded familiar, but Steven couldn't place his finger on it. She did not seem to notice him at all.

"Hey, hey, hey. Are you okay?"

'Pearl' went still, and she peeled her hands away from her head to look up at Steven. She had big, blue eyes, and something about them made Steven pause. Perhaps because she looked so surprised to see him.

The white, round thing from before was actually her Gem. It was in her forehead, above her eyes, and framed by her hair.

She didn't reply to what Steven said, so he tried again.

"Are you okay?"

Suddenly, Pearl sat up pin-straight, and though Steven pulled back from her, her hands went to his elbows.

"Are _you_ okay?" she demanded. She had a nice voice, even though it was pitchy with panic.

She didn't wait for Steven to reply. Instead, her hands went all over him, touching his hands and his knees and his elbows like a mother after her child fell of their bike. She didn't waste long on much else, though, as her focus was mainly on his face. Steven still didn't know how badly Jasper had hurt him. He just hoped it wasn't as bad as it felt, though the way Pearl frowned and groaned as her fingertips dusted over the tender skin, he guessed it was.

"Ooh, ooh…" she fussed. "Was it Jasper?"

And though Steven could not for the life of him—even if it was really appreciated and heartwarming—understand why this stranger seemed so distressed with him being hurt, he nodded and replied, "Yeah. But I'm fine."

"Good."

Then her face twisted, lips curling back, blue eyes narrowing at nothing, and she seethed, _"She won't be when I get my hands on her."_

Steven held out his hands to her, and helped her to her feet. As she stood straight, Steven realized how tall she was. His head came up to her chest.

"How long have you been down here?" he asked.

She groaned. "I have no idea. I hate it, but I always take so long to reform, and when I finally did, she tried to force me into the pressure chamber, and I managed to break her tractor beam, but then she just locked me in and then she came back and started squabbling about how she was above me and I was below her and—"

She took a deep breath. She smiled at Steven, and though it was comforting, it was also cold. "I'm fine now."

"Okay. Well, listen, let me explain everything."

She waited, wide-eyed, but Steven didn't speak for a long time.

"Too much to explain. Let me sum up. Me and my friends are on this ship, too, and me and your friend broke out already."

Her wide-eyes went wider. "Amethyst?"

"Gesundheit."

"No, my friend, Amethyst. She's already out?"

"Oh, yeah! I guess. She didn't really tell me her name. She had to distract Peridot so I could get you out but—"

Pearl clenched her fists with newfound determination. Eyes full of fire, she declared, "Then we have to find her!"

She held the pose a second longer. Then she held a hand out to Steven. "Hold Pearl's hand."

Steven obeyed and slid his hand into hers. Then they were both running side-by-side, hand-in-hand to the stairs—

Pearl skidded to a stop, and she let go of Steven's hand to go to the wall of gizmos. The only thing she grabbed was one of the destabilizers, and she fiddled with it until the power shocked through its prongs. She gave herself an affirmative nod.

But when she went to take Steven's hand again, he didn't allow it and instead asked, "I don't think we need one of those."

Pearl's face softened somberly. She leaned down to Steven, keeping the destabilizer far away from him even though she'd already turned it off.

"Steven," she sighed, "I know this is a very scary situation, but you need to understand—"

"Get two."

"I—Do-wha?"

The baffled look on her face would have made him laugh, but instead Steven just shook his head.

"Look," he sighed, "I don't like that we're here…but we're here. And I really, really wished that Peridot or whoever else came with her would see the Earth and say 'it's not so bad' and leave us alone and maybe we would all chill and play video games and eat popcorn or whatever, but _it didn't happen._ And everyone knew it wasn't going to happen…except me. They were all preparing for the worst while I wanted to pretend for the best."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. Pearl stared.

"I think if we talked to them, Peridot and Jasper could let us go. Maybe we could convince them that the Earth is good, and we're good, and they don't have to do this…because everyone deserves second chances. But we can't talk to them. Not right _now_. So we have to do what we have to do."

He didn't say anything else than that.

Pearl grabbed a second destabilizer.

* * *

While they ran through the maze-like halls of the ship, keeping their ears and eyes open, Steven wondered if Jasper had any idea what was going on. Three prisoners had escaped, and one was practically torturing the Peridot Jasper had been sent with, yet Steven had yet to hear an alarm or see some kind of flashing red light anywhere. If she did notice, Steven could only hope that she hadn't gone to Lapis to get information she didn't have.

When they found themselves in the first two-way split, Pearl stopped. She brought a hand to her chin, and Steven saw gears turning in her head. She had the two destabilizers in one hand.

"We're at the heart of the ship right now," she mumbled to herself. "If I have the layout correct, then going left will take us to the first-level and the cockpit. Going right will take us to the third level. That's where they keep high-up Gems and prisoners-of-interest. Stars know where Amethyst has taken Peridot, or where Jasper could be in this moment."

"So…" Steven thought aloud, "We could either go left and try to take control of the ship, or go right and get everyone else. Or we could split up—"

"No."

"Okay."

"I say left," said Pearl. "If they already set a course for Homeworld, we'll want to stop it before it leaps."

"But if we do that, then Jasper's going to figure out what's going on and come for us."

"A fair point." Pearl continued to mumble, "Although if I can calculate the time accordingly, if I manage to put redirecting to Earth on a timer, then we could keep it going while we go get the others, though such a process would take at least three minutes, even if we ran. I can only hope I can understand how the system works, whether it's audio-mechanical or not, if the codes will be in a different binary than what I'm used to, assuming the large percentage of failure that would have—"

From the left, Jasper's voice boomed down the hall, _"WHERE IS SHE?!"_

Then they were running again, with just a quick "Right-Tighty!" from Pearl.

After several minutes of blind jogging, jumping at every sound, looking down every hall, rounding past every corner, Pearl squeezed Steven's hand in hers and asked, "Can you run faster?" In a gentler voice, she said, "You're doing perfect, but can you run faster?"

A nearby yell made them freeze.

A second later, Peridot appeared before them, running so fast that she skidded three feet around a corner. But instead of pursuing, she was now the pursued, it seemed. She almost did not see them, because her eyes were trained behind her.

"Just leave me alone," she cried out.

Then she saw Pearl and Steven.

For a long time, they all just stared at each other.

Pearl held up a destabilizer in either hand, glaring.

So Peridot was once again fleeing, and her one-note cry of terror faded out of hearing.

Somewhere, a familiar voice cried out, "Hello?"

Steven at first considered reminding Pearl that they still had Jasper to worry about, but he didn't have time to stop her before she responded with a call of "Amethyst?"

And that call was met with "Pearl?", and Steven had to stumble to keep up with the white Gem.

Something about Amethyst must have called Pearl like a honing device, because she was suddenly speeding through the halls like she had the whole place memorized. She almost seemed to forget that Steven was behind her, and he only knew otherwise because when he stumbled again, she paused, then kept running.

Somehow, they ended up in another wide-open room, and it looked so similar to the one they were in before that Steven guessed that they were actually above it. It was much brighter here, and the floor held a symbol of three diamonds Steven recognized but couldn't figure out how he did. The whole ceiling was clear glass, and he could see the many stars beyond it. A shooting star streaked silver and disappeared.

For a second, Pearl waited, and stepped back when nothing came. But just as she turned her shoulder to run elsewhere, a purple Gem slipped in from the other side of the room.

Eyes locked with eyes. Two destabilizers and six tractor-beam glasses hit the floor.

Steven blinked, and Pearl and Amethyst were together. Pearl, several feet taller than Amethyst, fell on her knees and into Amethyst's arms at the same time. Pearl's arms went around Amethyst's neck gently, as if to comfort a scared child, her face buried into soft white hair. Amethyst squeezed so tight around Pearl's slim waist. And they just held each other, eyes squeezed shut.

Steven didn't know Amethyst or Pearl, but he couldn't help but smile at them.

After a long time, they pulled back, Amethyst wiping tears away before they even fell. She sniffed hard, enough for her nose to kind of burble, and it made Pearl give a sad chuckle.

Amethyst smiled even though her eyes still watered. "You good?"

"'M good," Pearl replied. "You?"

"No." Amethyst's smile turned into a bitter frown like the flick of a switch. The hands now around Pearl's arms tightened. "I tried to get you, but they threw me into a cell and they took you away while you were still in your Gem—"

"I know. It's not—"

"—and I tried to go after you, but the yellow do-bee-bobber-thingy kept me back, and the giant cheese-puff kept screaming at me—"

"—Ame, look—"

"—and she kept yelling about how I was a worthless runt, and I was defective, and how nothings like me were—"

" _You are not nothing."_

Pearl's words were comforting but her voice was stern, and Amethyst shut her wobbling lips. She swiped at a stray tear on her cheek and let out a shaky breath. Pearl put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, well…" She shrugged. "You're not worthless."

A harsh laugh bubbled out of Pearl's throat. She reached up and ran her fingers through her soft hair, even though there wasn't a strand out of place.

"I'm serious," Amethyst told her.

Pearl nodded.

Then Amethyst grinned. "Alright, come here."

"Wha—Hey!"

While Pearl was still kneeling, Amethyst swept her off her feet like it was nothing. Pearl squawked, and her arms flailed for a moment, but Amethyst just guffawed. Pearl tried and failed to pout. They were both laughing, and it made Pearl shake in Amethyst's arms, and Steven didn't say anything, but he still smiled because he couldn't help it.

Amethyst tossed Pearl up into the air, and it succeeded in another squeal, but she was smiling this time. Steven's grin grew wider as Pearl came back down—

—and jumped when she and Amethyst turned into light.

It was so bright; he almost could not keep his eyes on them. Their Gems were caught in one single shape, and it had no form, but it was spinning like a top, and it was like it was scattering glittering light all around it. They were laughing still, but their laughs turned into echoes, and then blended together into one surreal melody. Then it really _did_ get too bright for Steven to keep staring and he shielded his eyes with his hands.

They burst like a firework.

And then Opal was laughing.

And she was laughing and spinning and hugging herself with her arms. She still had tears running down her cheeks but she didn't bother to wipe them away. She was so much brighter, too—her colors were vivid and her hair, snow white before, glimmered silver when it caught the light. She was so full of life it danced off of her and she didn't stop laughing even when she was stumbling in her dizziness.

She finally stopped and wiped away her tears even though she didn't stop smiling. Her eyes fluttered open, now with a gleam of purple in them, and they finally fell on Steven. The smile slipped off in her surprise, but unlike on the beach, when her surprise had come at the cost of poofing, she was soon smiling once again, and she went down on her knees with her arms held wide.

"Steven!"

Steven's brain had shut down in his shock, but then he was running into Opal's arms and throwing his arms around her shoulders and squeezing tight while she squeezed him.

"Opal," he cried, "You're a fusion!"

He felt more than heard her chuckle. "Yes." She paused. "I always thought it was kind of obvious."

He pulled back from her, and then he couldn't stop the questions from spilling from his lips.

"You've been a fusion this whole time? Every single day? You're two people _all the time?_ So, like, every moment we've had together was also with Pearl and Amethyst? How long have you been like this? Do Ruby and Sapphire know who Pearl and Amethyst are? Wait, even if you're Pearl and Amethyst, you're also Opal, so I've never really met Pearl and Amethyst even if they're you so did I make a good first impression or did I screw something up because if Pearl and Amethyst are listening, I _swear_ I'm not this annoying, I was just scared and—"

"Steven?"

"Yeah?"

"You can't make bad first impressions on people who already love you."

"Oh. Cool."

Opal chuckled and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Oh!" Steven pulled away. "We still have to—"

Opal didn't let him finish. With one fluid movement, she swept him behind her and stood up. Steven—his height was closer to her thigh now, so he thought that maybe she had shrunken a bit—looked past her leg to see what was wrong.

Jasper stood in the doorway farthest from them. Her face was flat but full of fire.

Steven tensed up behind Opal, but she didn't react. She just clenched her jaw and glared Jasper down.

Jasper stepped closer. A sigh hissed through her teeth. "I guess I should thank you. Now your imminent deaths will be all the more satisfying to me."

Opal simply clicked her tongue and looked down at Steven. Patting his curly hair gently, she told him, "Go back to the split and head left. When you get to the cockpit—"

Jasper cut her off with a gruff, "I'm talking to you, fusion! You—"

"Shush."

Jasper's lips clamped shut, not so much out of fear, but more of annoyance. She fixed the taller Gem with a flat but icy glare, which Opal ignored in favor of turning back to Steven. She was remarkably calm, he noted.

"When you get to the cockpit—" She leaned down a little more and whispered so that Jasper could not hear. "—see what you can do about the cell system."

Steven nodded, but asked, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

She smiled a little, and chuckled under her breath.

"Trust me, Steven. She's outnumbered."

That was all he needed. He sent Opal one last smile of reassurance, and took off running.

Once he was gone, Opal turned back to Jasper. Her great hands were clenched into fists, her glare only intensifying when Opal met her eyes. Opal was largely unimpressed. Even without moving, she could see the fire bubbling inside Jasper, could see her composure crumbling like snow. Losing control over the situation was digging deeper under her skin than she was letting show.

"I don't know why she's so weak," said Jasper, "but the Peridot can take care of her."

"Not when the Peridot's been taken care of."

Jasper paused, staring at Opal expressionlessly for a long time. Taking a deep breath, her yellow eyes rolled up to the stars above them, clearly annoyed but not surprised. Her head shook side-to-side.

"Anyway." Opal rolled her shoulders back. "Thanks for being patient."

Jasper raised a brow. "Don't. I just didn't want to get you while you were distracted again. I came here to take care of some traitors—which I did—but I wanted something interesting, not two blubbering idiots and _another_ two bubbling idiots fused together. Give me a good fight this time."

"Usually, I really don't like taking orders from Homeworld cronies like you. This time, however, I will say _'Gladly.'_ "

Jasper—after looking maybe a little impressed for a moment—clicked her tongue and crossed her arms over her chest. They peeked out from her long cape, showing the dark stripes on her right bicep. "I can see why two defectives would try and pretend to be something they're not, but your dedication is appalling. I already know what you are. If either of you have any dignity, you'd own up to it."

"How eloquent. Maybe I'd listen, if I cared. At all." Opal sighed. "Look, we're kind of on a time crunch here. Let's just fight so I can beat you and then we'll see what happens next."

Jasper barked a laugh, great enough to show off her rows of white teeth. Even with her smile, her eyes were burning with both zeal and anger. "That's a bold statement! You really think you're gonna beat—!"

"Did I stutter?"

The smile slipped from Jasper's face. With a calm but near-predatory slowness, she reached into the back beneath her cape and withdrew the same destabilizer that had bested Opal just hours earlier. With a flick of her wrist, it activated, hot yellow power buzzing through the spines. She awaited Opal to draw her bow, but she didn't.

Instead, Opal smiled and stretched her arms out. "And by the way, you have _no_ idea what I am.

 _This is Opal,  
Back together.  
And we're never going down at the hands of the likes of you  
Because we're so much better.  
And every part of me is saying,  
'Let's get her!'"_

Jasper stepped forward, and Opal did the same, walking to the three-triangle insignia in the middle of the room. Though a bit shorter after regeneration, Opal still stood taller than the orange Gem. Not that it mattered—with her sheer mass and bright eyes, Jasper seemed just as big as her, two giants standing a few mere feet apart. Jasper was glaring. Opal was still smiling.

" _The two of us aren't gonna listen to your rules.  
Try and stop me without any of your fancy tools."_

Opal looked at the destabilizer, and Jasper held it up as a warning. Sparks flickered sharp between the spines. Opal finally reached up to Pearl's Gem, and another garish grin came to Jasper's face, and Opal knew why—what fool would use a long-distance weapon in a hand-to-hand fight?

" _Let's go, just you and me."_

But Opal wasn't a fool, which is why instead of her bow, a long white spear with a curled but sharp blade appeared in her hand. Jasper's grip on the destabilizer tightened.

" _Let's go, while it's just us three."_

They clashed.

The prongs of the destabilizer and the blade of the spear met in quick, sharp collisions. Opal was elegant, kept her back straight and her chin high, moving the spear almost like a ribbon, or a sword. Jasper was fierce and threw everything she had into every swing. Opal knew that Jasper was breaking, and Jasper knew that she knew, breaking her further. Jasper was trying to keep ahead, to prove that the fusion wasn't worth everything that a soldier like her had—but at the same time, she was fighting down the temptation to let loose.

Jasper forced Opal back, and Opal did the same, toes and boots stomping and dancing across the floor. All through it, they kept their eyes on each other, calm blue on hot yellow.

" _Go ahead and try to beat us if you're able  
I think it's about time we turn the tables  
I can see you hate the way we are together,"_

Opal darted to the side, catching Jasper off-guard. Her next swing met nothing, her feet stumbling forward. Opal had just thrown a log into the fire, and she knew it, because when Jasper turned to her with a snarl, she just raised the spear and smiled wider.

" _But I think you're just mad 'cause we're better."_

" _You're not gonna stop what we are together.  
We are gonna stay like this forever."_

Jasper went to stab the destabilizer into Opal's waist, but with a quick swipe of the spear, it instead went up into the air. Opal caught it with two free hands, another still holding the spear, the other simply resting on her hip. For a second, she dangled the destabilizer teasingly where Jasper could not reach it, and then snapped the thing in half with almost no effort. Jasper's face twisted as the useless pieces clattered to the floor.

" _You can break us apart, but we'll come back stronger."_

Jasper's crash helmet appeared on her head, and she stanced herself, legs apart, eyes trained on the spear. It was almost what Opal wanted—almost. Jasper was cracking, the instinct-like prowess of a Quartz soldier rising, but she was still trying to best her. She was trying to analyze Opal like any other obstacle. So to get where she wanted, Opal could not be easy to read.

Which is why she threw her spear aside and let it burst against the wall. From Amethyst's Gem she withdrew a long whip that split into gemstone-tipped cattails.

"' _Cause you can't keep us pinned down any longer."_

Jasper lunged forward, and Opal did the same.

" _I am made  
O-o-o-o-of  
Lo-o-o-o-ove!  
O-o-o-o-oh!"_

Finding the cockpit was easier than Steven thought. It had a hexagon-shaped door, and many of the glassy yellow veins ran through its walls. Much like the cockpit of a plane, it had many clear windows, although these showed a great display of stars beyond the glass. There was a curved control panel with a hovering green chair, and Steven ran forward to it.

He immediately knew that there was no way he could figure this out. He didn't understand the symbols and the buttons and the whatever-else that was spread before him. He thought Pearl's cell was hard to open—this was impossible. How was he supposed to do anything, like Opal asked?

The right side of the panel—the only one physical, like a tablet back on Earth, while the others were holograms—caught his attention then. The screen, even if he couldn't read it, was set up like a list of buttons, and each button had a small video feed of the cells on the ship. Many of the buttons were unlit and showed empty cells with no yellow fields. Two of them _did_ have the fields activated, but showed no one within the cells.

Only two video feeds on the screen showed any prisoners. He could see the red and blue shapes of Ruby and Sapphire, Ruby curled into a ball in the corner, Sapphire pacing around her cell in circles.

On a guess, Steven pressed on Ruby's button, and he watched the power field fall. Ruby, alarmed, sprung to her feet, but did not move. He pressed Sapphire's button next, and though she paused, she near-immediately darted out into the hall and out of sight. Steven knew that her future vision would lead her straight to Ruby, so he turned back to the holograms and swallowed.

* * *

The whip lashed at Jasper faster than she could react. Even without blood or flesh, it cut at her skin, snapping at her face and arms. Each cut made her growl louder, until the cattails wrapped around her broad waist.

Opal pulled Jasper forward to her and struck her cheek with her foot. She did the same with the other, swapping her footing in one graceful turn, but Jasper finally caught her. Her fingers clamped down on Opal's calf, and as she had done earlier on the beach, she swung the fusion up over her head and brought her down, hard. The impact was great enough to make the floor cave and crack.

Before Opal could recover, Jasper reared above her and brought her crash helmet down onto her belly. Opal was pushed further into the floor, like a second shockwave, bending in on herself with a grunt. But while Jasper was still bent over her, she grabbed hold of her shoulders and used her as leverage to pull herself up and out.

She flipped over Jasper and back on her toes, albeit a bit more scuffed and scratched than before. But she just pulled out a second whip and beckoned Jasper closer.

* * *

The second the door opened, Sapphire zipped into the cockpit, Ruby trailing behind her with a great cry of "VIVE LA RÉVOLUCION!"

Sapphire gave Steven the quickest hug possible, hardly a second of wrapping her arms around him, before she went to the controls. Her fingers went into the holograms, and Steven saw her body stiffen, saw some kind of electricity buzz through her arms.

Ruby, after doing a quick pick-up-and-spin embrace with Steven, went to Sapphire's side and looked on with her. Sapphire's fingers weren't really maneuvering so much as twitching directionless through the buttons and switches.

"What do we have to do?" asked Ruby.

"Just gotta use m' future vision to see," Sapphire replied, but her words were slurred and rose up and down. She almost seemed intoxicated, especially when she began to sway side-to-side. "Just got to press this button and boop this'n and beep-dee-bop another here…gotta ship this steer back to Earth and uh…heh…the lights are purty…"

"Alright, alright, alright." Ruby pulled Sapphire back from the holograms. The second her gloved fingers were free, Sapphire was shaking her head clear, groaning as if she had a bad headache. "Future vision and electro-babble don't work at the same time. Just give me instructions."

She cracked her fingers straight, rolled her shoulders back, and thrust her fingers into the hologram. Her composure broke instantly. Her irises vanished, her eyes turning into green static in their sockets, all while she cried out, _"THE LIGHTS ARE NOT PURTY."_

While Sapphire tried to instruct her with 'press-this-then-that', Steven looked around to the other controls. He felt like he was forgetting something, but what was it? He'd come to the cockpit, set Ruby and Sapphire out, so they were all together…

Steven's eyes went to the screen with the video feeds and the buttons. Stepping over, he swiped his finger across it like his phone, and the buttons scrolled up. Three swipes, and he found the final lit button, with its little image of a blue Gem sitting with her head in her hands.

He deactivated the field of the cell. Without letting Sapphire or Ruby respond, Steven ran out of the room and called over his shoulder, "I'll be back in just a second!"

* * *

There was an uncountable time of clashing between Opal and Jasper. The whip cracked, the helmet collided, fists pounded into flesh, bodies ducked and darted. Loose cloth and white hair were flying everywhere. For every blow, there was retaliation—Jasper clocked Opal across the face, she kicked her legs out from beneath her. Opal lashed the whip across Jasper's chest; Jasper crashed her helmet into hers.

Then there was a break—Opal managing to wrap both of her whips tight across Jasper's limbs. It was like trying to contain a beast, the way Jasper pulled and twisted, all while Opal pulled the whip tighter. Jasper's growls grew louder, her teeth and eyes flashing with each spin of her head, and Opal took a breath.

Giving the whips just a bit of slack, she raised them both over her head and swung down hard. Neon purple power surged through the whips' lengths, almost like electricity through a powerline, and went right to Jasper.

Jasper let out something like a roar as the power sparked and snapped and bit at her, crackling in the air and the whips tight around her limbs. Opal felt her pull weaken, and loosened her grip in preparation for a final strike.

Opal was no perfect fighter herself, though, and did not catch on that Jasper was putting on an act. Once the fusion had lightened her hold, Jasper, much like how Amethyst had done in her cell, curled her body into a ball. But unlike Amethyst, when Jasper spun, some kind of sparking white blaze revved with her. The whips and their charge were swallowed in with Jasper.

Opal hardly had time to duck before the sparking fireball that was Jasper came zipping for her. Jasper tore across the floor and up the walls, not stopping until she spun up to the glass ceiling. Even then, it was only so she could bounce off of it and strike down on Opal from above.

The collision was great and confusing. Dust and debris, combustion like lightning, consumed the air. The floor was pierced through like simple paper by Jasper and Opal both. Opal, and probably Jasper, did not fully comprehend the impact, instead letting it pass in a haze, the one lull they would take on together.

Once it was over, and the falling stopped, Opal breathed. She was cut and tattered, covered in dust, her skin covered in bloodless scratches that would heal later. Her hair was ratty and tangled. She was thankful that she had not been destroyed yet again, that she was not separated, but it took a minute to gain control of all her limbs together. Things came to her one by one: she was on her back, missing her whips, in a place that would only have yellow light if it weren't for the hole in the ceiling above—the lower level, where Pearl had been prisoner, where the heart-drive of the ship rested.

She finally managed to pull herself up to her toes, swaying a bit, shaking her head. Jasper was still standing, in no better shape than Opal—cut, tattered, dusty, the glass of her helmet cracked. She was shaking, either from the lasting effect of power surge or the buzz of the fight. Opal could feel it, too, a buzz—some kind of determination in her very Gems not to lose and keep fighting.

" _Opal is who we are.  
Opal is who I am.  
You might as well get used to it,  
'cause you won't take me down again."_

She withdrew another spear, and another whip, and watched Jasper smile once more. It was the most garish she'd ever seen, showing her teeth and her gums, twisting up her cheeks and eyes.

" _We're tired of bowing down to you  
It's about time to meet your end."_

The smile told Opal that Jasper thought she had already won—that she'd already broken Opal, had finally proven that Opal was exactly the insignificant nothing Jasper had claimed she was.

But it also told Opal that she'd won, too, not the fight, but her plan. Jasper was completely unhinged. She didn't care about her mission or the war or Homeworld or Earth. It was just the two of them and the need to win to Jasper. But that was the exact opposite of Opal, who cared about far too many things to let Jasper take her down again.

" _You're not going to hurt my planet.  
You're not going to hurt my friends."_

Jasper's helmet met the spear, her hand caught the whip, she dodged the stabs while Opal ducked from the charges. The sharp _clacks_ rang in the air, over the quick thumps of feet on the floor. They were fighting raw and graceless. Neither of them were reading the other anymore and lived in the moment and the moment only.

" _Go ahead and try to beat me if you're able.  
I think it's time we turn the tables."_

Jasper once again clocked Opal across the face, and she returned the favor, hard enough to shatter the visor of Jasper's helmet. The next time Opal swung forward, she caught the way Jasper dodged back, when before she had ducked from side-to-side. So Opal stabbed the spear forward, and Jasper pulled back, and she lashed the whip, and Jasper pulled herself away.

" _You think that you have what it takes to beat me?  
I'm something much more that you can't see."_

This time, it was Opal's turn to smile, as she watched Jasper slowly cower further and further away from her. Jasper was waiting to strike a finishing blow, but she couldn't do that without an opening that Opal would not give. The room seemed not to matter, even as they backed further and further into the darkness, feet stumbling and toes gliding.

" _I am so much more than the two of them  
Everything that they care about is what I am.  
I am their fear.  
I am their courage."_

With one final kick to the chest, Jasper was almost pushed to falling down. But by the time she regained her footing, she was not looking at Opal—she was looking at the bright white bow aimed directly at her chest.

" _I am a syncopation."_

Opal let the bowstring go.

It was like lighting a match, the way glittering dust and a shockwave of force went through the air. It was enough to lift her hair and the drape of her top, but she smiled nonetheless. With the one arrow, she knew that she had won, and cared for Jasper no longer.

For a minute.

Jasper was completely thrown back, flying through the air, only stopping when she hit the far wall. It was a hard collision, almost as hard as the arrow strike itself, and she landed hard on the platform against the wall.

She was already down, but while Opal was thinking about what to do—should she poof her, leave her, talk her down?—the floor beneath her lit up bright green.

Neither of them had time to react.

Jasper was swallowed up in a great, glassy orb and disappeared just as quickly.

 _Escape pod,_ Opal realized.

* * *

By the time Lapis Lazuli finally realized that the field to her cell had been lifted, Steven had already arrived.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, though Steven wasn't sure why. Maybe it was shock, or just a calm. Relief, maybe? It didn't last long.

He held a hand out to her, but she took a step back. Her fingers twitched and curled.

"Come on," Steven begged.

Lapis stumbled for words at first. Clambering up to her feet, she stuttered, "Th-The others will find us, Jasper and—"

"No, Lapis. _We_ won. Everything's okay."

She did not seem convinced, so he turned his hand palm-up.

"Everything's okay now, I promise."

Lapis was speechless, and stared at the hand extended to her.

* * *

Back in the cockpit, Ruby still had her fingers in the holograms; Sapphire was still murmuring instructions to her. Peridot, Jasper, and/or Opal had yet to appear, and too busy trying to turn the ship back on path to Earth to see if they would, Sapphire was speaking at a mile a minute.

"Turn off the one on the right," she told Ruby. "Then the green button."

"They are all green, Sapphire, for the last time!"

"The round one. Th-The one with the little triangle on it!"

"Okay, okay, and…"

Ruby finally pulled her hands free, and with her eyes clear once more, she gave a jubilant cry of "We did it!"

This was immediately followed by all the screens turning pure yellow as a robotic voice droned, "ENERGY OVERDRIVE. HEART-DRIVE INOPERABLE. COMPLETE FAILURE OF ALL SYSTEMS IN APPROXIMATELY ONE MINUTE."

This was followed by a low but loud siren, like a fire alarm. The holograms flickered away.

Ruby still had her arms in the air, and slowly lowered them as she processed what was happening. She turned to Sapphire and gave her a flat glare, saying nothing, while Sapphire twiddled her fingers and fidgeted in place.

"It messed up more with my future vision than I realized," she said meekly.

Then the ship began to tremble, slightly at first, then rumbling like an earthquake. Ruby and Sapphire stumbled on their feet. The siren grew louder. Outside the windows, the view of the stars began to pull back. The matter flowing through the veins on the walls stuttered to a stop.

In the below-level room, the eerie yellow light began to flicker, and Opal turned away from the launchpad to look at the heart-drive. It was swelling bigger and bigger, shocks of energy lashing out from the core. It was humming louder and louder, a bomb waiting to blow. The siren was wailing above her.

Casting one last look back at the launchpad, Opal leapt up into the air, through the hole in the ceiling just as the humming reached a peak.

As she was halfway to the cockpit, the heart-drive blew.

Everyone on the ship cried out as it gave a great lurch. Outside, a great blaze of smoke and neon fire burst out of the ship's palm. Debris blasted out into space. The fingers splayed as if the ship itself was in pain. Already falling back to Earth, the speed only increased.

The view of the cockpit was pulling back further and further, stars shrinking one by one. The quaking intensified as it tore through the atmosphere.

Opal stumbled into the cockpit. Ruby and Sapphire greeted her with unison cry of "Opal!"

"Where's Steven?" she demanded.

Just a second later, he appeared, he and Lapis connected by their hands. It was a very short moment, but tenseness crept into the cockpit. The Crystal Gems and Lapis looked at one another warily. Steven knew, but couldn't help, that they wouldn't really be happy to see one another. Lapis had not forgotten the long time she was trapped prisoner in a mirror, how the Crystal Gems had tried to lock her away instead of freeing her. The Crystal Gems had not forgotten the near-fatal encounter in the ocean. Neither side forgot that Lapis had essentially ratted them out, necessary or otherwise.

Their one shared link was Steven, and he pulled Lapis further into the room, stumbling as the ship lurched and swayed. The stars had all but washed out now, replaced by the dark fuzziness of atmosphere, and then clouds. The siren was still wailing, but they were ignoring it by that time. They all knew that ship was going down, but it was the collision on Earth that worried them.

"Everybody pile in," Opal barked to them.

Ruby hopped off the chair, grabbed Sapphire by the hand, and pulled her over to Opal. Steven did the same to Lapis, although she stumbled at first. The four Gems pushed Steven between them, and they all squeezed together, arms wrapping around arms, as close as they could manage.

"Bubble," Ruby cried.

With thankful speed, pink light erupted from Steven's Gem, blossoming up and around them. They were all pushed closer as the Bubble sealed together. Steven held his breath. He was still holding Lapis's hand, and he squeezed it tighter.

The crash was sudden and bone-shaking.

The Bubble and the Gems inside were tossed into the air. Outside, Steven heard the shrieking and groaning of twisting metal. The light faded away slowly, and there was darkness. Something was gurgling and bubbling. Things floated up and bumped against the Bubble.

Water. They had fallen into the ocean.

Lapis seemed to realize this as well, because she let go of Steven's hand to holds hers palm-up. Quickly but gently, the Bubble surged upwards. The darkness lightened bit-by-bit. The air in the Bubble began to stale, not helped by Steven's quick breaths.

Then it burst, and they hit the water.

For a moment, Steven floundered, salt water in his mouth and his eyes. He lost contact with the Gems, and his limbs moved uselessly.

He finally found his balance and kicked in place, spitting out water and wiping it from his eyes. He wiped away the drips falling down his forehead. Though it brought on some stinging tears, he looked up and around them.

The night sky was back to its original velvety blue color, and the stars reflected off the sloshing ocean waves. Smoke hung in the air. All around him, like buoys, debris bobbed and sunk into the depths. Much of it were small pieces, but the fingers were peeking up over the surface. Steven could see straight through an intact hallway to the other side. Somewhere, yellow light flickered and died.

Not too far away, about as big as his hand, he could see the Temple. Moon and starlight cast shadows across her stone features. He had left a light on within his Room—he could see the little orange squares of the windows. At the very least, they were home.

He heard splashing near him, and then arms were thrown around his shoulders. He floundered, then laughed, as Sapphire hugged him tight. She was smiling with pure, utter jubilee, even with the water heavy in her hair. Her bangs were pulled slick from her face, so Steven could see her blue eye twinkling.

Ruby splashed over to them, and once between them, she once again cried, "VIVE LA RÉVOLUCION!"

Steven and Sapphire echoed, "VIVE LA RÉVOLUCION!"

Opal's voice was the last to say it. She appeared almost instantly behind Steven, making him jump. She just laughed and ruffled his dripping-wet hair, did the same to Sapphire, then Ruby.

But Steven's smile hesitated. Turning left and right, he called out, "Lapis!"

"I'm over here!"

She glided over to them on a swell of water, standing on two feet. She still was not smiling, but she raised a hand to them. They, too, were lifted up into the air on a sturdy surge. Even though the water bubbled and frothed at his feet, Steven felt as if he was standing on solid ground.

Lapis joined them…at a distance. She and the Crystal Gems hesitated to make eye contact.

Steven was the first to break the silence.

"Well. We did it."

There were nods and smiles, but no replies.

"So, uh…" Steven cleared his throat. "Opal! You're a fusion!"

Ruby, wringing water out of her headband, sputtered. Rounding on Steven, she cried, "You met Pearl and Amethyst?!"

"Urgh…" Sapphire quietly groaned, pressing a palm to her forehead. "After years and years of dodging every possibility...I'm sorry, Opal."

Confused, Steven looked up at her, but Opal just smiled.

"It was supposed to be a birthday surprise," she said, sheepishly.

"Really?" Lapis's voice brought the Gems' attention to her. She, too, was smiling, small and a bit hesitant. "I thought it was obvious."

Opal laughed, quick and quiet, and Steven pouted. Lapis smiled a bit wider.

"It wasn't that obvious!" Steven threw his arms into the air. "You could shapeshift into a—a giant lobster, if you wanted! I didn't think four arms were weird!"

"Two Gems?"

"You didn't want me to know, why are you teasing me about it?"

The five of them all chuckled together.

Looking at the sinking ship and the Temple not too far away, Steven felt a relieving sense of finality wash over him. It was over. They'd won. For now, everything was okay, and they were safe. Lapis wasn't in danger anymore. By tomorrow, everyone could be back in Beach City, Greg would know that he was okay, and he could tell Connie all about this adventure. It was kind of weird, to think that tomorrow he'd be watching television or reading a book or doing something absolutely mundane compared to what he'd just endured.

Not that he was complaining.

"Well," he said. "I guess we just have to head back home now, huh?"

Then the green light returned.

But the green light was sharp and cold, seized up his limbs and turned his bones stuff. He could barely move his own lips and eyes. He pushed and pulled—at least tried to curl his fingers—but he was frozen like ice. He heard the Gems gasp around him. The water holding them up sloshed into the ocean, but they remained in the air.

" _Ha!"_

Of course.

Of course they'd forgotten something.

Peridot was on a fingernail that had crashed standing straight up from the depths. She had repaired her tractor glass—the one that now held the Crystal Gems and Lapis Lazuli in a beam. How she had managed to get out of the collision with only a few drops of water and a scuff or two, Steven had no idea. But there she was, and there they were, completely powerless to stop her.

Peridot was grinning like a kid that just won a game of tag. The tractor beam lifted the Gems higher into the air. Her laughter was high and giggly, and went on for quite a long time. Steven could hear Lapis grunting and the water below them gurgling. If she couldn't even lift her hand, Lapis couldn't save them.

"I got you!" Peridot burst into another fit of giggles. She was starting to dance on her feet. "Now you can't break any more of my things or ruin any more of my missions! How does it feels, you—you Crystal _Clods?!_ How about I break one of you right now? Show you what it feels like?"

Ruby barked back, "I'd like to see you try!"

"What are you going to do?" demanded Opal. She was glaring daggers at the aptly-named 'Perisnot.' "The second you let us go, it's all of us against you."

"I'll take you on one-on-one!"

"With what? The second we break that toy again, you're useless!"

Peridot glared at the five of them for a long time. Her lips were once again puckered into a sour 'M'. But then she was smiling again, a mischievous smile and a chuckle that made them all pause.

Still holding her tractor-beam hand upwards, Peridot lifted the other. Her index digit pulled further from the rest, and from its tips emerged a tiny, blinking button. Steven watched it warily—Peridot wasn't going to bomb them all, was she?

"See this?" Peridot snorted. "All it takes is one second—not even that!—and Homeworld will know. They'll know what something happened to me and Jasper and the ship, and they'll know it was _you._ And that's not even a threat. That's what I'm promising you, right now."

The button pulled further out, and Steven was just about to scream "NO!" when—

"Wait!"

The button stopped. If Steven could, he would look at Lapis.

Peridot's eyes narrowed behind her visor. "For what?"

Steven could hear Lapis swallow. "Hear me out."

"Why should I? You were just getting warm and cuddly with these clods!"

"Only because they were winning! You always pick the winning side."

Although the Crystal Gems said nothing, Steven could feel the hot and cold air wafting to him from Ruby and Sapphire. Lapis had attacked them, condemned them, joined them, and now she was betraying them. Except…Steven wasn't convinced. Something told him that Lapis was bluffing, and he just waited with caught breath for her to continue.

Peridot raised a brow, saying nothing, and Lapis continued.

"You think I care about these traitors? They kept me locked in a tool for hundreds of years, and the second I got out, they tried to put me back in—"

Opal's interjected, "Um, _no_."

"—and they followed me for miles and miles just so I wouldn't be able to escape. The only decent one of them is the fleshy one, and I only defended him because he's too weak to put up any kind of fight."

"So what? You're swearing loyalty to Homeworld now?"

"Yes."

"Even after being held prisoner?"

"I'd rather be a prisoner with you than a friend to them."

Below, the water was still.

Peridot huffed. Green eyes flickering from her to the Crystal Gems, a long sigh came from her lips.

"Fine. I'll tell them to spare you when they get here."

The tractor beam split in two, separating Lapis from the others in her own personal hold. But as she was pulled away, further from Steven, Lapis's voice once again called, "I'm not done!"

Peridot probably meant to sound menacing, but her voice instead came out as a whine. _"Whaaaat?"_

"Pull me closer, would ya?"

Peridot did as she was told, albeit with a roll of her eyes. Steven could only see Lapis when she was suspended in front of Peridot. Her legs and arms were held awkwardly half-bent. Although probably just as tall, if not shorter, than the green Gem, she seemed smaller.

"Listen," Lapis muttered. "You want to bring Homeworld reinforcements here now? Fine. Do it. But you know what that means? You'll have to explain everything. You're going to have to tell them how prisoners escaped on _your_ watch, how _you_ ran away from a butchered Quartz, how _you_ lost control of the ship. You're going to have to tell them how your negligence managed to lose the best Quartz soldier they had."

Peridot's glare softened, though only to narrow in thought. Lapis's words were digging into her, Steven could tell. Peridot had been so angry to lose connection to the Kindergarten, to have so many of the Robonoids broken—Steven could only imagine her under fire for losing an entire ship and a Gem.

"So…" Peridot clicked her tongue. "What do you suppose I do?"

"Well, you can't really lie your way out of it, can you? So you have to make up for it."

"Okay?"

"So poof them. All four of them—take away their physical forms, tear the fusion apart. And tell them you did it all by yourself."

Peridot moved Lapis a bit to the side to look at the Crystal Gems once more. Sapphire was trying to look at Steven, who was staring unblinkingly at Lapis. Ruby was heating up the air with each attempt she made to break free of the tractor beam's hold. Opal was the only one who met Peridot's gaze, and it was with a dark scowl that clearly said _'Try it, I dare you.'_

"How do you propose I do that?" she inquired of Lapis.

Lapis probably would have shrugged, if she could. "Don't think you can. They've got a point—your gizmos are the only thing you have. You'd be shattered if you tried."

"So you'll do it."

"I would."

"You will."

"I _would._ Look, the Ruby, the Sapphire, and the fusion? I could take 'em easily. One by one."

"Okay, so _do it."_

"It's not them I'm worried about. It's the Steven."

Peridot looked right at him. Steven gulped.

"What about it?" Peridot asked. She paused, then added, "And I thought Jasper said that was a Rose—"

"He's not like the others. He's…solid. His form won't go as easily—it might not go at all. I might have to rip the Gem from it, and that's just a guess. I need time with him. You can try to do them one-by-one, but then what? Take care of one, go to the next, and the first will regenerate. I can't Bubble Gems, and I doubt you can, either."

Peridot nodded. Something that wasn't really fear, but more like hesitance, appeared on her face. Lapis was her only hope at the moment, and she realized it. The Crystal Gems realized it, too, which is why they either glared at Lapis or watched her warily.

"So what do you propose?" she asked, and she finally released Lapis to stand beside her on the nail.

Lapis's eyes went unnoticed to the button still on Peridot's other hand. Less than a second, she had promised. Even right beside her, it was too great of a risk.

She turned up to the Crystal Gems. She locked eyes with Steven.

He waited.

"You have to take them all out at once," she told Peridot.

"How?" Peridot replied.

Lapis turned away from Steven to the green Gem, but Peridot was turned from her.

"Let's fuse."

The Crystal Gems dropped about a foot in the air before the tractor beam caught them again with their limbs splayed. Peridot held her arm straight once more, but the face she gave Lapis was much less than composed. Her eyes were wide, her nose was wrinkled. She was baffled, confused, and disgusted all at once.

" _What?!"_ she shrieked, loud enough to pierce Steven's ears.

"Fusion makes Gems stronger— _especially_ when they're different. If you fuse with me, we could poof them all together, in one blow. We could shatter them, even, if we weren't supposed to take them back to Homeworld."

"Fusion is—is useless! Unnecessary for Gems like you and I. How would they react when they found out I fused with—"

"They won't know. What, you think they're going to believe these clods? It's not like you have anything left to lose."

It was hard to describe the feeling that hung in the air. Unease, tension, fear, finality—it was stuffy and hot, and Steven did not know whether to cry or scream or stay quiet. Lapis wouldn't meet his eyes anymore. _Not like this_ , he thought, _not like this…_

"Fine," Peridot spat. "But we tell no one."

"Lapis!" It tore out of Steven's throat before he could stop it. "Lapis, don't! Please!"

Peridot ignored him. "How do we do it?"

"Lapis, please!"

Lapis held her hand palm-up to Peridot, who looked at it warily. "Just think about what you want and move with me. It'll only take a minute."

The tractor beam dropped.

Steven gave a short yelp before he splashed into the icy-cold water once again. Somewhere nearby, the other Crystal Gems did the same. In a second, he had bobbed back up, swiping wet curls from his eyes and spitting from his mouth.

Lapis and Peridot were holding each other's hands, the cylinders between the ends of Lapis's fingers. Their movement was continuous, but awkward, a bit too robotic and stiff. They pushed and pulled their arms together, connected elbows and turned in a circle. In their last move, they grabbed each other's elbows, tilted their heads back, and swung them forward.

Their forms erupted into light just as their foreheads collided.

Steven almost really did start crying then, as his friend meshed with his enemy into a formless mass that swelled and swelled. Peridot's fingers and legs and arms did not melt, though, instead clattering on the finger and splashing into the water like useless garbage. Not that Steven particularly cared—he couldn't look away.

One of the Gems pulled him back by the arm, but there was nowhere to go, not as the light grew brighter and the form thicker. They were sitting ducks, Steven realized. They were trapped.

The legs were the first to materialize, then the arms. The head grew from the torso, hair spilling out. The fluid shape of clothing came next, and with a final, sharp burst of light, the fusion towered above them.

She was the tallest two-Gem fusion Steven had yet to see—about two and a half times Opal's height, slender in build. Her skin was a pastel-teal kind of color, the hair as blue as robin eggs. The hair's shape was awkward. It was as fluffy and soft as Lapis's, but stuck out in many directions, almost like a clover, in a way. She still had a clear visor, but clean-cut across her face. The eyes behind them were dark and round. Her nose was pointed and her lips were thin.

She had four arms, but only two came from her shoulders. The other two came from the back of her neck, long and heavy-ended and fluid like ribbons. She was wearing a teal leotard and a frontless blue skirt lined in yellow stripes, same as her thigh-high leggings. No shoes, though. She still had the diamond insignias at her chest, one within the other. Steven could only see Peridot's Gem. It was a bluish-green color and uncovered by the visor.

For a long time, the new fusion stood still, blinking slowly, fingers twitching with unfamiliarity. Her fluid arms lifted, fell, lifted again.

Her eyes fell down to the Crystal Gems, bobbing defenselessly in the water.

She smiled.

She began to giggle.

Small and breathy at first, then higher and louder. Steven couldn't tell if it sounded like Peridot or Lapis. Whoever it was, her fusion was absolutely cackling.

Opal was quick to summon her bow into her hands, but the fusion was quicker.

Spouts of saltwater shot up into the air. In hardly even a second, they had become spears of frost and ice, their razor-sharp ends pointing straight at the Crystal Gems. Steven instantly felt his blood run cold in his veins. The others would be poofed at once—he would be stabbed dozens of times over like a pincushion. The Crystal Gems knew this and waded close to him, as if it would help. Opal dismissed her bow in a quiet surrender, but the spears only inched closer.

The fusion's grin was not sinister of malicious. It held pure, childlike joy and nothing more…which was someone worse.

She took a deep, singing breath. "Goodbye, Crystal Gems."

But then the spears rounded.

The fusion stopped smiling when each and every point was turned on her instead. The Crystal Gems were left to watch, wide-eyed, as they all inched closer and closer, and Steven only then noticed that the arms stretching from her neck were trembling. The thin, flat fingers were curled almost into fists.

The fusion began to sweat…no, not sweat, melt. She didn't puddle, but her skin and hair and clothes dripped and ran without losing her form. She was breathing rapidly now. The arms once held out were now curling towards her chest as the spears drew closer.

Then they all surged forward, and Steven almost cried out, only to see the spears instead melt and refreeze in two short instants. They became one shape—a bondage, a Chinese finger-trap, wrapped all around the fusion's torso and down to her legs. Her normal arms were pinned to her sides. The ribbon ones flailed and shook.

She could have been crying, or it could have just been her eyes running like the rest of her.

"What?" she cried out. "What is this?"

It was Peridot's voice, for sure.

"What are you doing?"

Then it was Lapis's.

"I will _not_ be anyone's prisoner any longer. I am not Homeworld's, and I am not the Earth's. I am _Lapis Lazuli."_

The water behind the fusion rippled and churned. Two great hands, like claws, reached up from the depths and seized a hold of the trapped fusion. She was raised into the air, not unlike how Peridot had trapped them before, but she was still kicking and flailing with all the strength that she had. She was melting more, but more grotesquely, spilling and pulling back into place like a push toy. One side trying to split from the other.

"But if being trapped is all I'm good for, then _so be it._ "

The claws squeezed tight.

But there was a pause.

The fusion's eyes found Steven's.

"Goodbye, Steven."

And then she was gone.

…

At some point in the stretch of silence, Lion came padding across the water to them. His almost-shaped eyes looked around at the sinking mess of a ship, then fell on Steven. He licked the boy's hair. Steven did not respond. Lion nudged him with his nose. Steven did not respond.

He heard Ruby whisper, _"Dang."_


End file.
